


The Catboy Next Door

by sincelight



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Age Difference, Bottom Byun Baekhyun, Cat/Human Hybrids, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Self-Lubrication, Step-Sibling Incest, Underage Sex, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 09:07:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 21
Words: 67,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24468469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sincelight/pseuds/sincelight
Summary: A new neighbor moves in and a young, curious Baekhyun, with his fuzzy little ears and happily swishing tail, is determined to make a new friend. What he gets is a smoking hot 19 year old that refuses to let him win when they play video games together, and a crush that lasts way too long.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Kim Jongin | Kai, Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Park Chanyeol, Kim Minseok | Xiumin/Oh Sehun
Comments: 176
Kudos: 472





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is gonna be another long one. Updates every Monday and Thursday!

From the time he could walk he was always getting into things he shouldn’t, wandering through the adoption agency with wonder filled eyes, little fingers grabbing at any and everything. He wanted to know how things worked and wanted to figure it out for himself. He didn’t need his caretaker’s help for things out of reach when he could just climb. He didn’t want to be shown, he wanted to learn for himself. Baekhyun was a curious little kitten.

He was six years old when he was adopted. Just a mother and son, the boy seemed to be much older than him, but he looked friendly. And once again, Baekhyun was curious. He liked the way they smelled, like coffee and fresh fruit, and maybe the boy had some candies in his pocket. He leaned, climbed over the table as the mother signed his adoption papers, and curled up in the boy’s lap. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was home.

Then, Baekhyun grew up. His age nearing the double digits, still carrying that curiosity with him. He liked to watch people, observe them, find little quirks about each and every person he saw. People were interesting to him; he couldn’t tell what they were thinking, could only guess by their expressions and actions. And to Baekhyun, that’s what made them so fun to watch.

He was sad when his boy moved away for college, but he was promised he’d come back during holidays. So, Baekhyun didn’t cry. Okay, maybe he sniffled a bit in his bed that night, but he surely didn’t cry. He was nine, almost ten, and ten year olds don’t cry over silly things like that.

He was popular in his elementary school. Loved by teachers and students alike. Everyone was his friend, and that’s just how he liked it. He enjoyed being liked. In middle school, things began to change. He was at the cusp of his teenage years and, though he didn’t seem to be getting taller, he was becoming more confident. And, his boy kept his promise, returning on holidays to pet and play with his rapidly growing kitten. Baekhyun was happy.

It wasn’t until he was 13 that his confidence faltered for the first time, something that scared him a bit and turned his world upside down.

“Mom! Look! We have a new neighbor!”

Baekhyun’s mother doesn’t look away from her cooking, only gives him a soft, acknowledging hum.

“Do you think they’ll have a kid my age?” He bounces in excitement in his seat by the window; he really hopes he can make a new friend. “I’m gonna go say hi.”

He slips his shoes on and bolts out the door, running across his lawn and almost tripping over his own feet in his haste. There’s a large moving truck in the neighbor’s driveway, so he runs around the front of it, not expecting to slam face first into someone. He looks up from where he landed on his butt on the pavement.

“Are you okay?” a soft, deep voice calls out to him.

Baekhyun looks up, hand over his forehead as he squints, trying to see the stranger better through the sunlight shining into his eyes.

“Uh…yeah I am. I’m sorry I ran into you.” He stands and brushes himself off quickly, staring up at the stranger still. He’s very handsome, Baekhyun thinks. His skin glows in the natural lighting; his eyes are dark and his lips full, and he’s— “So tall,” Baekhyun says aloud. He blushes when the man chuckles.

“I’m not tall,” the man says, “you’re just short.”

Baekhyun’s face scrunches in thought and then he smiles. “What’s your name? I’m Baekhyun!”

The man sets the box in his arms down in the grass and reaches a hand out to shake Baekhyun’s. “Nice to meet you Baekhyun, I’m Chanyeol.” He wipes sweat from his forehead; it’s been unusually hot this summer. “I’m guessing you’re my new neighbor?”

Baekhyun nods rapidly, unable to contain his excitement, still holding loosely onto Chanyeol’s hand. “Yep! I live with my mom right next door. I saw you and wanted to say hi and also see if you have any kids I can play with.”

Chanyeol chuckles and crouches down so that he’s eyelevel with Baekhyun. “Sorry but,” he ruffles Baekhyun’s hair, careful to avoid agitating the pointed ears atop his head, “I’m practically still a kid myself, so I don’t have any kids for you to play with.”

Baekhyun thinks he wants to pout, but he can’t bring himself to while staring into Chanyeol’s eyes. He only continues smiling. He likes Chanyeol already. He’s very nice; most adults aren’t this nice to kids.

“That’s okay! How old are you? We can be friends. I have an older brother! You can be friends with him too!” He’s practically vibrating with excitement; his tail swishing happily behind him. “Do you like videogames? Me and Kyungsoo play video games all the time. He thinks I don’t know that he always lets me win.”

Chanyeol is a nice man, a very patient man, and this kid is way too cute to stop him from rambling on and on. Baekhyun follows him into his house, still talking a mile a minute, tail still flicking happily behind him. Chanyeol has lost count of how many questions he’s been asked in the last minute, but he knows he hasn’t been given the opportunity to answer a single one.

Baekhyun climbs up onto Chanyeol’s kitchen counter and watches him begin to unpack a box. He swings his legs as he continues talking and watches Chanyeol place items into various drawers and cabinets.

“Oh no,” Baekhyun says suddenly. He sniffs the air and tucks his ears back. “My mom is coming to yell at me. She thinks I talk too much.” He hops off the counter and looks up into Chanyeol’s eyes, a silent plea. “You gotta tell her I wasn’t being annoying.” He looks to the door, then back to Chanyeol. “But, don’t tell her I was helping you or else she’ll know you’re lying.”

A genuine, intrigued smile spreads on Chanyeol’s face and then there’s a soft knock at the door, followed by Baekhyun’s mother’s voice calling out for him.

“You can come in, ma’am,” Chanyeol says. He gives a nervous looking Baekhyun a quick wink.

She enters the room and spots Baekhyun standing innocently beside a half-empty box, his tail tucked between his legs. “Oh, I hope he wasn’t pestering you, dear. He’s a curious little thing, bless his heart.”

“Mom!” Baekhyun whines. “You’re embarrassing me!”

Chanyeol chuckles and shakes his head. “No, he’s fine. He was just asking me questions while I unpack.”

She raises an eyebrow at Baekhyun, who still refuses to look up from the floor. “And, how many questions did he actually give you the chance to answer?”

“Uh…well—”

“Baekhyunnie, we’ve talked about this. You have to give other people a chance to talk.”

Baekhyun looks up now with a childlike pout. “I know,” he mumbles.

“Why don’t you let the nice man get his things unpacked and maybe you can play later.”

Baekhyun gasps, looks up to Chanyeol with wide, hopeful eyes. “Can we?”

Even if he wanted to, Chanyeol couldn’t say no to Baekhyun’s adorably eager face. He’s got a lot to bring in and unpack, but he doesn’t think he’d mind some company to fill the silence. “Of course we can.” He grins at the way Baekhyun hops happily up and down. “I don’t know where they’re at right now, but I have lots of video games. Once I get them unpacked and set up, I’ll come get you.”

“Okay!”

Baekhyun’s mother takes his hand and leads him out of the house and back into theirs. She puts him at the kitchen table and gives him the lunch she’d been cooking when he ran outside.

“Baekhyunnie, you know you can’t just go into strangers homes like that. Some people are dangerous, especially to little kittens like you.”

He chomps down on his chicken strip and ponders for a moment, unsure of what his mother means by that. “I’m not a kitten anymore, though.” He swallows, takes another big bite. “Chanyeol is a nice man. He ruffled my hair and didn’t even hurt my ears like everyone else does!”

“That’s nice sweetie, but still, you should never just go into a strangers house. Not everyone will be nice like Chanyeol.”

“Okay, mom, okay. I get it.” He sets his chicken down and gives his mother a very serious look. “Does this mean I can’t go play videogames with him?”

“I’ll make you a deal,” she says as she sits at the table with Baekhyun. “Your brother gets home in a few days; if Kyungsoo meets him and thinks he’s okay, then you guys can play all the videogames you want together.”

Baekhyun finds that an acceptable answer and continues eating.

It’s been exactly six months and 13 days since Kyungsoo was last home. He came home for Christmas last year and stayed his entire break, going home shortly after the new year. He’d told Baekhyun then that he only had one more semester until he graduates and then he would get to come home for the entire summer. Baekhyun has never been so excited about anything in his life, except maybe when he was adopted, and also the first time he got to eat pizza.

He’s standing on the porch when Kyungsoo’s car pulls into the driveway. Baekhyun can smell Kyungsoo’s familiar scent before he even shuts the car off, causing him to tremble from how hard he’s purring. His mother pats his shoulder a few times, her feeble attempt at calming him. But then, Kyungsoo opens the door and steps out, and is immediately tackled to the ground.

“I think someone missed you,” their mother says as she stands by to watch Baekhyun happily lick and nip at Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo laughs, tries his best to fight Baekhyun off of him. “I missed you too, Baek.”

“Mom said I can play with the new neighbor if you think he won’t kill me.” Baekhyun jumps to his feet and grabs Kyungsoo to help him stand. “Let’s go meet Chanyeol! He has videogames!”

“Who?” Kyungsoo asks, confused by the sudden, new information.

“The new neighbor,” their mother supplies, pointing to Chanyeol’s house. “He’s a nice boy, your age. Baekhyun has been absolutely bursting to play with him, but I said he had to wait for you to meet him.”

Kyungsoo opens his car’s backdoor and pulls a large duffle bag out as he nods. “Baek, are you sure he wants to play with a little kitten?”

Baekhyun puts his hands on his hips and stomps a foot. “Yes! He said so himself.” He turns to follow Kyungsoo up the porch steps and into the house. “And, I’m not a kitten. You and mom both keep saying that, but I’m not.”

“You sure are acting like one right now.”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Am not! Am not!”

Their mother sighs and rolls her eyes. “So lovely to have you back, dear. I almost forgot about the incessant arguing.”

“How old are you now? Like seven?” Kyungsoo asks, disregarding his mother’s sarcasm.

Baekhyun fixes an angry glare onto his face and bares his little fangs at his brother. “I’m thirteen and you know it!”

“Could have fooled me.”

“Mom! Kyungsoo is—” He stops mid-sentence and raises his nose up in the air, taking in a few deep breaths. Before there’s even a knock at the door, Baekhyun runs over and flings it open with a wide, blinding smile. “Hi!”

“Baek, who—” Kyungsoo doesn’t finish his sentence. He’s stalled in the middle of the living room by a handsome stranger standing at his door. The man is tall and broad, and so good looking he thinks if he had a tail like Baekhyun, it would be wrapped shyly around his leg right now.

“This is Chanyeol!” Baekhyun says with wild excitement. “This is my brother Kyungsoo,” he says as he tugs on Chanyeol’s wrist, pulling him into the house.

Baekhyun doesn’t understand why the two men don’t speak to each other, they just stand feet apart, staring. So, he runs up behind Kyungsoo and pushes him forward.

“You’re supposed to shake hands and greet each other!” He gives Kyungsoo another nudge. “Kyungsoo, don’t be weird, come on!”

Kyungsoo takes Chanyeol’s hand, hoping he doesn’t mind how sweaty his palms are. “Nice to meet you,” he says, then immediately pulls his hand away and wipes it on his pants.

“You too.”

Their mother stands by with a knowing smirk and shakes her head before retreating into the kitchen. Baekhyun follows.

“Mom, does this mean I can be friends with Chanyeol now?”

“I’m sure it does, sweetie.”

Kyungsoo enters the room and Baekhyun is thrown off by the lack of Chanyeol’s presences.

“Did you scare another boy off with your brooding demeanor and icy gaze?”

Kyungsoo pauses for a moment to stare at his brother, confused and a little offended. “Have you been reading my books again? I told you to stay out of my room when I’m gone.”

“He’s not wrong, dear,” their mother says with a crooked little smile. She gives Baekhyun a quick high five.

“Thanks mom. And no, I didn’t scare him off, for your information. He came over because someone was supposed to go back to his house the day he got here, but never did. He was making sure he didn’t get you in trouble.” Kyungsoo sits at the table with his small family and begins picking at the fruits his mother has cut up on a plate. “He also said that his video games are all set up whenever you wanna go play.”

Baekhyun doesn’t hear that last part; he’s busy staring out the window, starry-eyed and smiling. Chanyeol was worried about him. No boy has ever been worried about him, except for his brother, but he’s nowhere near as tall or handsome as Chanyeol.

His mother questions him when he stands and he tells her he’s gonna go play with Chanyeol now.

“I don’t think so young man. You need to eat lunch and then go take a bath, you smell like a wet dog.”

Baekhyun glares and wraps his tail around himself, squeezing the tip of it with both hands. He does not smell like a stinky dog. “That’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me,” he whines, and then storms off to go take a bath.

“Teenagers,” Kyungsoo says with a roll of his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

On Kyungsoo’s second day home, from the moment he wakes up, Baekhyun pesters him about going to Chanyeol’s house to play videogames. While he’s brushing his teeth, in the shower, getting dressed, making breakfast, Baekhyun is there to continually ask when they’re going over to the neighbor’s house.

‘I don’t know’ isn’t a good enough answer for the young cat, so he keeps asking and by lunch time, Kyungsoo is losing his mind. How his mother spent years raising this cat, he’ll never understand. But, he now knows that he needs to start buying her better gifts than coffee mugs for mother’s day.

He’s sitting at the kitchen table, attempting to enjoy a Baekhyun-free breakfast, when two little brown cat ears pop up from the other side of the table. He sighs around the spoon in his mouth.

“Why don’t you go see if he’s even home, huh? If he is, ask if he wants to play and then we can go over there.”

Baekhyun’s head comes in full view and his ears flatten. “Me? I-I have to go knock?”

“You’re the one who wants to go over there so badly.” Kyungsoo stops to pat Baekhyun’s head on the walk over to place his dishes in the sink. “You said it yourself, you’re not a kitten anymore. I can’t do everything for you for your whole life.”

“B-but…I don’t wanna.”

Kyungsoo turns with a wicked smile. “You sound like you have a little crush on our new neighbor.”

“I don’t! That’s not true!”

“Are you nervous because he’s so handsome?” He leans down and pinches Baekhyun’s cheek; teasing his little brother will never get old.

“Stop it!” Baekhyun yells as he crashes head first into Kyungsoo’s chest. “I’ll go ask, just stop teasing me.” He digs his fingers into Kyungsoo’s waist and looks up at him with his pathetic kitten eyes he’s perfected over the years.

“Oh, quit with the face. It works for Puss in Boots, but it stopped being cute on you years ago.” He musses Baekhyun’s hair and waves him off so he can get at least five minutes of peace to enjoy his coffee.

Baekhyun stands at the end of the walkway, starting up at Chanyeol’s door. He’s playing with his tail again, a nervous habit he’s never quite grown out of, and trying to will his legs to carry him forward. He feels like a kid in a movie, dared to go knock on the haunted house’s door. He has to tell himself that Chanyeol is definitely not a ghost to soothe his violently shaking limbs.

With a deep, unsteady breath, he begins his slow approach to the door. His arm feels suddenly weighted as he lifts it to knock, but a loud noise from inside startles him and he cowers back.

His curiosity overcomes him and he steps to the side to peek into the window. If Chanyeol were to look in his direction, he’d see two pointed ears and two very curious, very wide eyes.

He spots Chanyeol in his kitchen, near to the window; he’d dropped something made of glass and is busy sweeping up the shards scattered on the floor. But, what holds Baekhyun’s attention is Chanyeol’s state of undress. His mouth goes dry at the sight of Chanyeol’s toned, uncovered torso, and his nails dig into the wooden windowpane. His tail swishes violently behind him; Chanyeol looks like the man on the underwear billboard he drives by on his way to school.

Chanyeol finishes sweeping and tosses the glass into one of the empty boxes still on the kitchen floor. Baekhyun swallows hard at the way his arms flex as he moves through the kitchen. He knows he shouldn’t be watching, but he can’t look away. He’s absolutely transfixed.

“Bad cat!”

Were he an actual cat, and not just a hybrid, Baekhyun would have jumped ten feet in the air at Kyungsoo’s sudden voice calling out from behind him. His tail, however, does puff up in fright, much like a regular old housecat. He presses his back flat against the wall beside Chanyeol’s door and watches in fear as his brother closes in on him.

“I told you to knock, not spy on him.” He holds his angry eye contact with Baekhyun as he reaches over him to knock on the door. “What were you even looking at?” Kyungsoo questions as he waits for Chanyeol to come to the door.

“Soo, please…please don’t tell him.” He grabs his brother’s shirt and makes a pitiful face up at him. “Please.”

“Baek, I swear I don’t know what to do wi—”

The door opens and Kyungsoo’s words die in his throat as his eyes meet a broad, naked chest. His eyes scan slowly upward and he hopes his face doesn’t look as stupid as it feels like it does.

“Hi.”

“Oh, hey guys. What’s up?”

Chanyeol ruffles his own hair and grins at each of them, one at a time. Both brothers stare stupidly at him.

“Kyungsoo wanted to know if we can play video games today!” Baekhyun’s voice is louder than it needs to be. He’s so nervous for some reason, a mix of hoping Kyungsoo doesn’t tell Chanyeol what he was just doing and the fact that this is the closest he’s ever been to another man’s nipples in his life. Excluding Kyungsoo’s of course, because ew.

“Uh,” Chanyeol checks the watch on his wrist; the brothers give each other the same kind of side-eye at the same time. “Give me like an hour? I need to shower and do some more unpacking, but yeah, I’d love to.”

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo walk slowly and silently back to their house, both too ashamed to talk about what just happened, embarrassed about how they acted. They sit on the couch with a cushion between them and don’t speak. Chanyeol’s bellybutton is burned into Baekhyun’s memory and he sees it with every blink. A blessing and a curse.

“Kyungsoo, how do you know if you like boys?”

Kyungsoo, being openly gay himself, tilts his head at his little brother and smiles. “In my experience, if you have to ask that question, it’s already been answered.”

Baekhyun frowns, confused, and gets onto his knees to lean in closer to Kyungsoo. “I don’t understand.”

“If you didn’t like boys, you wouldn’t have to ask that question.” He leans his head back and rubs his hands over his face with a sigh. “Chanyeol is really hot, isn’t he?”

“Like the underwear man on the billboard.”

Kyungsoo makes a face, having no idea what the hell Baekhyun is talking about, but he nods. He’d love to see Chanyeol in his underwear.

“How old do you think he is?”

Kyungsoo chuckles at Baekhyun’s enthusiasm. “Too old for you, little one.”

Baekhyun pouts.

“And, no more spying on him,” Kyungsoo says, pointing a stern finger in Baekhyun’s direction. “Like, I totally get it, but don’t do it again. It’s creepy.”

Baekhyun feels like he’s stepping into a different world when he enters Chanyeol’s house this time. Not only is Kyungsoo by his side, but there is furniture and decorations, and the faint scent of Chanyeol lingers around the air. He wants to climb onto the couch and smell it. He knows that’s where people spend a lot of time, so their scent tends to be strongest there. Other than the bed, but the thought of crawling onto Chanyeol’s bed makes Baekhyun feel itchy and warm.

Kyungsoo told him once before that it’s weird to just start sniffing people and their things, so he’ll have to wait until he’s seated on the couch to sneak a smell or two. For now, he thinks Chanyeol smells like when he and his mother walk by the Yankee Candle store in the mall. He loves walking by that store, so many exciting smells.

“Chanyeol, you smell very good,” Baekhyun says with a big smile. Kyungsoo may have told him not to directly sniff people, but he never said not to compliment them.

“Oh uh, thank you.”

Kyungsoo tugs on Baekhyun’s arm, pulling him closer to his side. “He has a weird thing with smells,” he says, giving his brother a quick, warning look. “Cat nose and all that, ya’ know.”

Chanyeol laughs and takes a seat on the couch; Baekhyun quickly scurries onto the cushion beside him, fighting every urge he has to press his face into the back of the couch. So, he just stares up at Chanyeol instead, grinning cutely.

“You smell good too, Baekhyun. Like you eat lots of fruits.”

Baekhyun whips his head toward Kyungsoo and sticks his tongue out. “See, other people like smells too. You’re just grumpy because no one ever says you smell nice.”

“That’s not true.”

“People don’t even talk to you because you look angry all the time.”

“You little punk.” Kyungsoo holds a balled up fist between his and Baekhyun’s faces.

Chanyeol listens to them bicker for a while longer, smiling to himself as he chooses a video game and grabs a controller for each of them. 

Playing games with Chanyeol is much different than when it’s just him and Kyungsoo. His big brother always pretends to lose, but Chanyeol is competitive and takes Baekhyun out of the Smash Bros. match within sixty seconds. He pouts, but not because he’s sad he lost.

“See Soo, I knew you always just let me win.”

Kyungsoo laughs and pats his brother’s head quickly, still in a fierce battle with Chanyeol. “It’s because I can’t stand to see you pout.”

Baekhyun crosses his arms. “I don’t pout.”

“You’re pouting right now.”

“I have to go pee,” Baekhyun says, still pouting. Chanyeol explains where the bathroom is and he slips off the couch, making sure to block Kyungsoo’s view of the screen for a few seconds.

When he steps in front of the open bathroom door, a sudden strong smell coming from somewhere else catches his attention. He sniffs and turns his head, taking a few unsure steps to follow the trail. He knows he shouldn’t be snooping like this, but something smells so pleasant, he just can’t help it.

He finds himself in front of a door cracked open only a few inches. He peeks back toward the living room; Chanyeol and Kyungsoo are still focused on the game. The door isn’t closed. If it was an important room Chanyeol didn’t want people in, it would be locked right?

He takes a deep breath and pushes the door open enough for him to slip into the room.

Chanyeol’s bed is in the middle of the room, unmade, still messy from a night of sleep. His scent in this room is so thick, so potent, it has Baekhyun feeling dizzy, but in a good way. Chanyeol doesn’t smell like the candle store, he smells even better.

He remembers he’s in here for a reason, and that he shouldn’t be in here in the first place, and takes a few more steps into the room. He can smell it, that strong Chanyeol scent, but he isn’t sure where it’s coming from. He can’t bring himself to touch the bed, so he steers clear of that. Maybe the laundry basket in the corner by the window.

“I hope you’re not planning on peeing in here.”

Baekhyun yelps and turns toward the door so fast he drops the dirty shirt in his hand and almost falls over. He shrinks into himself and plays nervously with his tail. “I— I’m sorry. I wasn’t…I didn’t…” he sighs, unsure of what he wants to say. “You smell like lavender and vanilla and oranges and I just wanted to smell it better.” He hopes Kyungsoo didn’t hear him say that. “I’m sorry.”

But, Chanyeol doesn’t get mad, or weirded out. Instead, he smiles and walks further into the room. Baekhyun watches him dig through a box on the dresser in his closet. He turns to Baekhyun with a small glass bottle in his hand and holds it out.

“I think this is what you’re looking for.”

Baekhyun takes a few reluctant steps forward, reaching timidly for the bottle. He pulls the cap off and the scent of the perfume fills the room. He looks up to Chanyeol with large, excited eyes; the eyes of a kitten.

“You have a bottle of your scent?”

Chanyeol laughs. “No, I think I smell that way because of the bottle. I probably smell like a stinky boy without that.” He takes the bottle from Baekhyun. “And deodorant. Deodorant is my friend.”

Baekhyun frowns in confusion and shakes his head. “No. No, people always smell different than their perfume. Like Kyungsoo, he smells like licorice normally, but his perfume makes him smell like the rain. You don’t. You smell just like it.”

“Maybe I just spray too much on me.”

“Well you—” Baekhyun pauses, feeling his cheeks redden for some reason. “It smells really good.” He peeks up at Chanyeol but quickly looks back to his feet.

“Give me your hand.”

Baekhyun’s heart begins to race as he looks up, mouth hanging open. He lifts his hand and watches Chanyeol take it in his own. Chanyeol flips his hand over, facing his wrist up, and sprays the perfume on Baekhyun’s wrist.

“Rub them together now.”

Baekhyun listens, still staring up at Chanyeol in awe. This is his new most favorite smell ever, and Chanyeol let him wear it. If he could make the muscles in his face move right now, he’d smile.

“You nosy little cat,” Kyungsoo’s voice calls suddenly. “How did I know I’d find you in his room?”

“It’s alright,” Chanyeol says, taking Baekhyun by the shoulder and walking them both into the hallway. “He was sniffing around for my cologne. No harm done.”

“Mom called, she wants us home for dinner.” Kyungsoo motions for Baekhyun to follow him out of the house. “Just you wait till I tell her what you did.”

“No, don’t!” Baekhyun pleads. “Chanyeol said it was okay!”

“Yeah, Kyungsoo. Don’t be a snitch.”

Kyungsoo huffs. “Don’t encourage him.” He looks to his brother, “Go home and wash up for dinner. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Okay, bye Chanyeol!” He waves excitedly and flashes a smile of perfectly white teeth, and two little fangs, as he disappears through the door.

The door swings shut and the two boys listen to Baekhyun’s little feet slap the pavement and then run up the porch steps to his own house. Kyungsoo then turns to Chanyeol with a glare. Or, maybe that’s just his face, Chanyeol can’t tell yet.

“That’s actually a bad habit of his; I mean it when I say don’t encourage it. If he doesn’t learn, it’ll get him in trouble one day.”

“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol says with a smile that makes him seem anything but. “Just seemed like it would be fun to mess with you.”

Kyungsoo gulps and takes a step back when Chanyeol steps forward. “I have to go.”

“Alright,” Chanyeol says with a wave, “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

Kyungsoo shuts the door to his house and leans back against it, letting out a heavy breath. That is one fine man that moved in next door. He kicks his shoes off and sits on the couch beside Baekhyun.

“What are you doing?”

Baekhyun pulls his hands away from his face. “Nothing,” he says with a sneer. He decides he wants to be alone, so he shuffles to his bedroom and closes the door. The perfume Chanyeol sprayed on him doesn’t smell exactly the same on his own skin, but it still smells good. He takes a seat cross-legged in the middle of his room and brings his hands back to his face, bringing the scent right to his nose.

He smiles, lips pressed together tightly, small fangs digging into his bottom lip. He hopes he can see Chanyeol again soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Their mother is a clinical psychologist. She works long, unpredictable hours, sometimes seven days a week. Most people in her profession work a lot less than her, but she loves what she does, and she’s exceptionally gifted at helping people. She’s a passionate woman, at work and at home.

When Kyungsoo was fourteen his father passed away unexpectedly in a car accident. He withdrew from the world because of this, and for the first time, his mother didn’t know how to help. She had seen grief in patients hundreds of times, but this was different; this was her grief as well.

Her heart ached at the loss of her husband, but she couldn’t bear watching her son fall apart. She tried everything she could to help him work through things. She allowed him to be angry, she allowed his silence, his tears; she allowed him to take his frustrations out on her. Whatever it took for him to accept things and be able to move on with his life.

By a stroke of luck, she calls it now when recalling the memory, they happened to find a lost hybrid kitten one day when going for a walk. She must have been no older than a few years, and she was crying. Kyungsoo took her by the hand and insisted he and his mother would take her to a shelter.

This is where Kyungsoo first locked eyes with a six year old Baekhyun as he ran around in circles, giggling as a caretaker tried desperately to get him to calm down. Kyungsoo wished he could feel happy and free like that. He was jealous, and also intrigued by the tiny kitten bouncing happily around the shelter.

He watched as Baekhyun slipped out of the older woman’s grasp and ran straight for him. Baekhyun stopped at Kyungsoo’s feet and held a toy car up to him, waited patiently for Kyungsoo to take it from him.

Kyungsoo smiled; it felt foreign on his face. Tiny Baekhyun grabbed his hand and began running, dragging Kyungsoo along as he made laser sounds and pretended to blow things up with his mind. It was the most fun Kyungsoo remembered having in a long time.

Years later, now twenty-three years old, Kyungsoo can still remember the drive home from the shelter when Baekhyun unbuckled and crawled into Kyungsoo’s lap. He’d never been outside the shelter, let alone in a car. Baekhyun trembled in fear and Kyungsoo wrapped his arms around him, not letting go until they were home safe. Kyungsoo vowed to always love this little kitten, and to keep him safe no matter what.

“Baek, I’m gonna kill you if you don’t hurry up!” Kyungsoo makes a fist and pounds on the bathroom door again. It’s been well over fifteen minutes since Baekhyun walked in, and he has to pee. “What could possibly be taking you so long.” Silence, and then Kyungsoo grimaces. “On second thought, I don’t want to know.”

The door opens and Kyungsoo is met with the face of an adorable kitten trying to look angry. “I was trying to make my hair look nice, but it’s impossible with my stupid ears.”

“Your ears aren’t stupid,” Kyungsoo says as he hurries into the bathroom. He turns so his back is facing Baekhyun and pulls his pants down a little so he can pee. “And your hair looks fine.”

“My hair always looks fine,” he pouts, “I want it to look nice.”

Kyungsoo finishes up and washes his hands. He looks to Baekhyun standing in the doorway, his little baby brother looking terribly sad, and sighs. He’s such a weak man. “Come here, I’ll help.”

He has Baekhyun sit on the edge of the tub while he works a comb and some product that smells like apples through Baekhyun’s hair. It makes Baekhyun’s nose scrunch up in displeasure.

“This stuff stinks.”

“Do you want nice hair, or do you wanna smell good?”

That shuts Baekhyun up. He pulls his legs up to his chest and wraps his arms around them, resting his chin on his knees; he looks up at Kyungsoo. He’s totally focused on what he’s doing, eyes glaring harder than usual. It’s times like this that Baekhyun is grateful he has an older brother. He closes his eyes, thinking back to the shelter he spent the first six years of his life in; he’s happy he has a family at all.

Baekhyun leans forward and hugs Kyungsoo’s legs, whispering a soft thank you to him.

“You better not mess it up.”

Baekhyun hurries to the mirror to check Kyungsoo’s work. His hair looks messy, but in a styled kind of way. He grins.

“Why are you trying to look so nice anyway? I’m just taking you for ice cream because I missed your birthday. We’re not going to a five star restaurant.”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Baekhyun says, “I invited Chanyeol to come too!”

Kyungsoo closes his eyes, giving himself a quick reminder that he loves his brother. “Of course you did.”

It’s Baekhyun’s turn to bang his open palm on the bathroom door. Kyungsoo has been in there for a suspicious amount of time; he wants to ask if he’s touching himself, but Kyungsoo told him once that that’s a rude question to ask people. He doesn’t know what he’d do without Kyungsoo’s constant guidance and wisdom.

So, Baekhyun settles for sitting with his back to the wall beside the door. He can hear Kyungsoo moving around inside, opening drawers and cabinets; he can smell the mint when Kyungsoo begins brushing his teeth. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say Kyungsoo has a crush on Chanyeol too. Kyungsoo never takes this much time getting ready.

A knock at the front door startles both boys. Baekhyun hears Kyungsoo bang a random body part against the cabinet in the bathroom, but he pays that no mind, choosing to run to answer the door instead.

When he sees Chanyeol’s smiling face, his body thrums with joy. Chanyeol leans down to Baekhyun’s level. “How do I smell today?”

Baekhyun leans in close and nearly falls forward, melting into Chanyeol’s sweet smell. He gives a serious, approving nod. “Good!”

“Awesome,” Chanyeol says, giving Baekhyun’s shoulder a soft poke. “You look nice.”

Both Baekhyun and Kyungsoo say thank you at the same time. Baekhyun turns; his brother is standing a few feet away with his hands held behind his back and a slight pink color in his cheeks.

Kyungsoo clears his throat and motions to the door. “Ready?”

Baekhyun immediately grips Chanyeol’s hand and drags him through the door and to the car, beyond excited to get birthday ice cream with his two favorite people.

It feels like it’s been a very long time since Baekhyun left the house. Kyungsoo watches in horror as he acts like he’s never been in public once in his entire life. Chanyeol thinks it’s funny and cute, and he plays along with Baekhyun, annoying Kyungsoo to no end. He watches the pair from the table he’s seated at, thinking at least Baekhyun has an excuse; he’s an actual child. Still, he can’t help but think how adorable it is when Chanyeol picks Baekhyun up and tosses him over his shoulder, causing the younger boy to howl with laughter, and a worker to yell at them.

They finally join Kyungsoo at the table with their ice cream, just short of being kicked out of the store.

“Can I have a strawberry?” Baekhyun asks Chanyeol three bites into his candy filled, sprinkle covered concoction.

“It seems you’ve put every topping on yours except strawberries,” Kyungsoo points out with a fond smile.

Chanyeol laughs and scoops a strawberry up to give to him. “You can only have one though, they’re my favorite.”

“Mine too!” Baekhyun shouts.

“Since when?” Kyungsoo asks; he knows Baekhyun’s always favored grapes over everything.

“Since right now,” he says as if Kyungsoo had asked him a stupid question.

Chanyeol and Kyungsoo share a knowing look, but neither says anything.

They munch on their treats for a bit while they chat. Chanyeol brings up a possible Smash Bros. rematch soon, which the brothers agree to. Chanyeol assures he still won’t let Baekhyun win, and then they begin arguing over who is better at the game, Chanyeol or Kyungsoo. 

Baekhyun goes back to the counter to sweet talk another scoop of ice cream from the young cashier girl and returns successful. Kyungsoo warns him that his face won’t always be cute enough to get him what he wants; Baekhyun disagrees. Chanyeol says it’s the ears anyway, not his cute face. Kyungsoo glares.

“So, it was just your birthday?” Chanyeol asks.

“Mhmm,” Baekhyun says around the spoon in his mouth. He pulls it out with a pop and digs it into his bowl to get another scoop. “I just turned fourteen! Mom says I’m gonna hit cat puberty and get taller soon.”

Kyungsoo hides his face behind his hand; Chanyeol only laughs. “I bet you’ll get taller than your brother.” He leans in close to Baekhyun and looks over at Kyungsoo with a cheeky grin. “He’s pretty short for an adult.”

Baekhyun digs his fangs into his bottom lip to hide his smile.

“You don’t even know how old I am,” Kyungsoo argues, “I could still be a teenager for all you know.”

“I’m nineteen and there’s no way in hell you’re younger than me,” Chanyeol retorts, raising a challenging eyebrow at Kyungsoo.

“He’s twenty-three!” Baekhyun supplies, giving Chanyeol a big smile.

“Just as I suspected,” Chanyeol moves close to Baekhyun again and narrows his eyes at Kyungsoo. “He’s short for an adult,” he whispers.

“You’re just…freakishly tall,” Kyungsoo sputters.

Baekhyun announces he has to use the bathroom, and insists when he gets out they should all go back to Chanyeol’s and play video games. The older two agree and wait for him at the table.

He takes his time, skipping happily toward the bathroom. He enters and goes pee, then washes his hands. As he’s holding his hands under the air dryer, he gazes at himself in the mirror. He imagines what he’ll look like when he goes through the puberty his mother spent so much time googling. He knows it’s different than in humans, but he doesn’t know what to expect really, other than how his mother said he’ll grow taller.

Baekhyun poses in front of the mirror, giving a sultry pout, then making a few faces he would consider attractive if Chanyeol made them. He wonders if he’ll lose his puffy kitten cheeks and get a slim, handsome face like Chanyeol. He hopes so. Then he glances up at his cat ears and frowns; he hopes those don’t grow any larger, they’re already annoying enough as is.

Once his hands are properly dry, because he hates leaving them even the tiniest bit damp, he exits the bathroom. What he sees when he reenters the seating area stops him in his tracks.

He tilts his head, trying to flick his ears around to hear better. He watches Kyungsoo smile, then laugh at something Chanyeol says, something Baekhyun strains to hear but can’t. He’s never seen Kyungsoo act like this, running his hands through his hair and giggling. It’s weird.

Chanyeol reaches out and pinches at the fabric of Kyungsoo’s shirtsleeve and Kyungsoo smacks his hand away, something he’s done to Baekhyun many times. He does it this time with a smile though, and Baekhyun is terribly confused. Did Kyungsoo eat too much sugar?

“Hey, ready to go?” Kyungsoo asks in a cheerful tone, uncharacteristic of his usual unenthused personality.

Baekhyun steps up to the table and holds onto the back of the chair he was seated in. He stares at the two for a moment; something is strange, he just doesn’t know what. He nods anyway, and follows the older boys out of the ice cream shop.

His mother always told him that if you make a face for long enough, it’ll get stuck like that. He’s not worried about that right now, nor has he been for the last hour as he laid on his back in bed with a thoughtful frown.

He knows he can be considered a naïve kid. He isn’t the brightest and he doesn’t pick up on human’s social cues like other people, but he’s been observing humans for long enough to know when something is off. Especially if that human is his brother.

Kyungsoo isn’t a talkative person, and he surely isn’t often considered friendly. He’s quite the opposite of Baekhyun, who is sociable; Kyungsoo is quiet and tends to keep to himself. But, that’s not what he witnessed at the ice cream shop. No, Kyungsoo was—

Baekhyun sits up with a scandalized gasp. Kyungsoo was flirting with Chanyeol.

He wishes he had claws. He doesn’t think he would scratch Kyungsoo if he did, but maybe it would add a little flair, make him actually look intimidating for once. Whenever he gets angry, people just coo at him and think it’s cute.

Not this time.

He bangs on Kyungsoo’s locked door and stands with his hands on his hips, trying out different angry faces before the door opens.

“Awe,” Kyungsoo coos, “What’s wrong?”

At Kyungsoo’s reaction, Baekhyun throws his head back and sighs in frustration. “I’m not cute,” Baekhyun grumbles as he storms into the room. “I’m angry.” He turns and plants his feet firmly on the floor, facing his brother with a deadly glare. “At you.”

Kyungsoo points to his chest and raises his eyebrows. “What did I do? I just took you out for ice cream.”

Baekhyun takes a few stomping strides forward and stops at Kyungsoo’s feet. He begins poking him in the chest. “You’re trying to steal my future boyfriend.”

Kyungsoo’s grin is incredulous; he shakes his head and grabs Baekhyun’s finger to move it away from his chest. “Chanyeol, my dear brother, is much too old for you.”

“Well…well then he’s too young for you!”

“That’s…it doesn’t work like that, Baek.”

“But, I like him,” Baekhyun whines; he looks so sincerely devastated.

Kyungsoo may be cold, but he’s not heartless. He can see how upset his brother is and he feels terrible, but that doesn’t change things. “Baek, Chanyeol can’t like you back. He’s an adult, it’s against the law.”

Baekhyun’s bottom lip trembles pathetically. “That’s not fair.” He wraps his arms around himself and his face crumbles. Kyungsoo hurries to hug his baby brother and console him with gentle strokes between his ears.

“Innocent little Baekhyunnie,” Kyungsoo speaks softly, “you’re too sweet for this world.”

Once Baekhyun is calmed, Kyungsoo pushes him back enough to be able to see his face. He attempts a smile, hoping Baekhyun will smile back, but he doesn’t. He tells Baekhyun to go get some sleep, and the younger mindlessly nods.

Baekhyun stops short of exiting the room and turns back to his brother. “If you kiss him I’ll hate you forever.”


	4. Chapter 4

The next month is busy for Kyungsoo. He’d gotten a call back from an overseas paid internship he applied for during his final semester, offering him the job. It’s high paying and allows him to use the expensive degree he spent four years working extremely hard for. His mother and Baekhyun are proud, and Kyungsoo is still in disbelief. It was a very competitive position, and he just can’t believe he was chosen.

He’s nervous about leaving the country, everyone and everything he knows is here. But, he knows he can’t pass up the opportunity, no matter how nerve wracking and stressful the entire process is going to be.

He and Baekhyun haven’t talked about Chanyeol since the night Baekhyun cried. Kyungsoo is thankful for that because, if he’s being honest, he has no idea how he’d tell Baekhyun that he and Chanyeol have been having sex nearly every night since they all went out to get ice cream together.

Kyungsoo knows it can’t last though, and he knows Chanyeol knows as well. It’s nothing serious at the moment, and they’re both not in the business of long distance, especially when Kyungsoo doesn’t know how long he’ll be gone. Chanyeol has his own corporate job that keeps him busy enough as it is; a long distance relationship would just be illogical for the both of them.

He’d expressed that concern to Chanyeol last night, when he’d snuck over after Baekhyun had fallen asleep.

He had barely made it through the front door before Chanyeol was on him, pressing their lips together. The guy was insatiable, and Kyungsoo appreciated it, but he had to push him away. He explained everything to Chanyeol about the internship, where he was going and how long he might be gone.

To Kyungsoo’s pleasant surprise, this information didn’t seem to weigh heavy on Chanyeol, who agreed that what they had was just something casual and fun. He would be fucked face down on the couch not even an hour later. Just as friends, of course.

Kyungsoo knows his mother is aware of what is going on between himself and the neighbor. They haven’t openly talked about it, but she’s been awake reading on the couch some nights when he’s come back from Chanyeol’s house. She never spoke a word to him, but she did shoot him a knowing glance or two. Even she can’t deny that Chanyeol is a handsome boy.

He just hopes his mother doesn’t let any indication of his late nights slip to Baekhyun. He doesn’t want to break his brother’s heart before he leaves the country.

Baekhyun wakes up early this morning. School starts soon, so his mother has been trying to get him back on an acceptable sleep schedule.

He pads into the kitchen, still half-asleep. One eyes is barely open, unappreciative of the morning sun, and the other is being vigorously rubbed at with his little balled fist. He yawns, then smiles at the smell of syrup swirling around the room.

Kyungsoo is seated across from their mother sipping from a coffee mug, speaking in a hushed voice. When he notices Baekhyun’s presence he grins and pulls a chair out for Baekhyun, who hurries over and begins piling the empty plate set out for him with pancakes.

“You look like you had a rough night,” their mother teases. She reaches across the table to attempt flattening a few unruly pieces of hair around Baekhyun’s ears. “My little man,” she mutters.

He’s quick at work devouring his pancakes, so he doesn’t answer, but he does lean back out of her reach and give her a deadly glare.

“Hey, grumpy,” Kyungsoo says. He nudges Baekhyun with his elbow only to get his own glare in return. “Yikes, someone’s going through it this morning.”

“Shut up,” Baekhyun mutters through a mouthful of food. “I don’t like puberty. This is stupid.”

Kyungsoo tries his best to stifle his laughter. He remembers those miserable days, the bodily changes, the countless unexpected and unwanted boners. He supposed things would be different for Baekhyun, but judging by the way he’s angrily jabbing at his food, Kyungsoo thinks that despite their different physiology, things might be pretty similar after all. He feels for his little brother, he truly does. But that doesn’t make it any less funny.

Baekhyun’s puberty seemed to hit him all at once, hard and fast in the middle of the night. Waking up pouring sweat, with his dick hard for the first time in his life was a traumatizing experience for him. Kyungsoo was absolutely right when he said he was too innocent and sweet for this world, because he had no idea what to do.

Truth be told, he knew what to do, he was just too embarrassed to do it. Instead, he laid awake, wide-eyed and terrified, begging his now rapidly-developing body to calm down.

In the morning he timidly knocked on Kyungsoo’s door and told him what happened, too upset with himself to look up at his brother. His cheeks were colored bright red with insecurity, and disdain for this new stage in his life. He was scared Kyungsoo would laugh, or brush him off as being overdramatic. But instead, Kyungsoo just listened and even offered some supportive advice and a sympathetic hug.

His mother has been calling him her ‘little man’ all week, and it’s the worst, most humiliating thing he’s ever experienced. Kyungsoo tells him she did the same thing to him, and that it’ll only last at most a week. That isn’t very comforting.

“I’m gonna go to Chanyeol’s later, you wanna come with me?”

At the mention of Chanyeol, Baekhyun drops his fork and groans. He’s not sure if it’s pain he’s feeling or if the kitchen just suddenly became thirty degrees hotter, but he doesn’t like the sweat causing his shirt to stick to his back.

“Is that a no?” Kyungsoo asks, leaning back because Baekhyun looks ready to strike at any moment.

“Yeah, that’s a no,” Baekhyun says through gritted teeth.

Their mother stands and gathers the empty plates from the table to take to the sink. Baekhyun turns to Kyungsoo with a pained expression.

“Did you feel like this? When— I mean, did everything feel so…warm?”

Kyungsoo opens his mouth, but finds he has nothing insightful to say. “Uh…warm how?” He’s speaking quietly, for Baekhyun’s benefit; he’s sure he doesn’t want their mother overhearing this conversation.

“Like—” he wriggles in his seat, suddenly very uncomfortable. He curls his toes in his slippers and whines, on the verge of crying. “Like, I feel like I can’t sit still and everything is—” He rocks violently in his chair and groans loud, breaking down into frustrated tears. “I don’t want this.”

Baekhyun stands and pulls his sleep shirt off. “I hate this!” he yells. “It’s so hot and I wanna touch myself and this is so embarrassing!”

He storms off, leaving Kyungsoo and his mother staring at each other in horror until they hear Baekhyun’s bedroom door slam.

Kyungsoo points in the vague direction of Baekhyun’s room, “Was I like that?”

She chuckles, “Oh yeah. You were a little less forward about things, however.” She hugs the plate she was drying to her chest and gives a soft, wistful sigh. “My little man.”

Baekhyun throws his shirt on the floor and launches himself onto his bed, determined to burrow himself into the covers and stay there until this is all over. He fears how long that will be. Maybe he should have asked Kyungsoo about that before he ran out of the kitchen.

It wouldn’t be so bad, he thinks, if he didn’t feel like he might die if he doesn’t have sex immediately. He’s never felt the need to experience anything remotely sexual before; he’s never even wanted to kiss anyone until Chanyeol moved in next door. His view of the world has always been through innocent, inexperienced eyes, and he doesn’t appreciate this sudden change.

Growing up sucks.

He sighs and rolls onto his side, only to be externally reminded of his current internal struggle. He lifts the blanket and peers down, glaring at the tent in his pajama pants.

“Just go away,” he whispers violently.

He returns to his back and stares up at the ceiling, hands resting at his sides, but itching to move. He won’t do it; he refuses. His body will just have to suffer. He’d rather drown in a pool of his own sweat and self-loathing than do that to himself.

But, it probably feels good, right? It has to. He’s heard other boys at school talking about it before; he’s not that innocent. He wishes he had a hybrid friend he could talk to, but there aren’t any at his school except for him, and none live around his neighborhood. He’s a bit of a rare being.

Dog hybrids are more common; Baekhyun doesn’t understand why, they’re loud and messy, and always way too energetic. He’s dealt with a few when he was in the shelter and he can honestly say cats are the superior hybrid. He wonders if dog hybrids go through the same kind of puberty. He bets they just start humping everyone and everything within reach. Monsters.

He hears the front door open and close, Kyungsoo going to Chanyeol’s. A sudden rush of heat floods his body and he writhes in agony, twisting and turning, thrashing his legs around to kick his clothes and the blankets off of him and onto the floor. That brings him some relief, but not enough. He’s still pouring sweat, and still hard for no reason.

His eyes close and he can see Chanyeol the day he broke the glass in his kitchen. He remembers the way he looked cleaning, hunched over, shirtless, muscles flexing as he swept. He groans and a pleasure he’s never felt jolts through his entire body. He’d begun touching himself without even realizing and it feels so incredibly good, better than anything he’s ever felt. There’s no way he’s stopping now; he’s too far gone.

His free hand has a viselike grip on his sheets, so tight his arm is shaking with fatigue. When his back lifts up from the bed he gasps and his body jerks. He knows he needs to be quiet, the walls are thin and his mother is somewhere in the house; this isn’t an experience he’d like to become a family gathering.

Little fangs digging into his lip keep his mouth clamped shut. He’s panting slow, heavy breaths through his nose while his hand works quickly, chasing what he knows he needs to finally calm down.

It happens suddenly, giving him no time to process the feeling or stop himself from letting out a loud, indiscreet moan. A drop of cum lands on his chin, pulling him from his lust-filled daze. He feels infinitely better, less hot, more sweaty. His heart is rapid in his chest and it feels as though he just ran three miles, but he’d take exhaustion over feral arousal any day.

He slips his pajama pants on and sneaks across the hall to the bathroom so he can clean himself up. He’s thoroughly embarrassed and worried his mother heard everything; he’d lost control of his volume at the end there.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he knows he shouldn’t feel ashamed. This is something everyone does. Lots of people have to wipe their cum off of themselves with a ball of toilet paper in their bathrooms. He washes his hands and grimaces as he plucks the toilet paper from the counter carefully and tosses it in the trashcan.

Being able to think with a clear mind now, he decides that playing video games at Chanyeol’s house sounds like fun. He’ll just need to get dressed first, and maybe fix his sweat-matted hair.

His mother is on the couch reading through patient files when he enters the living room. This gives him a small sense of relief, because he knows that when she’s immersed in her work she wouldn’t hear a tornado ripping through the house.

“Your brother went over to Chanyeol’s a little while ago, if that’s who you’re looking for.”

“Thanks,” he says stiffly. “I’m gonna go play with them.”

It’s unbearably hot outside, much too hot for this late in the summer. By the time Baekhyun gets from his porch to Chanyeol’s, he can feel the sweat collecting at his hairline and down the length of his back. He takes a moment to try to wipe some of the sweat away before going inside; he doesn’t want Chanyeol to see him looking gross.

He gives his reflection in the window a quick once-over and smiles, then opens the door to let himself in.

His smile drops immediately.

“You promised!” Baekhyun shouts, standing frozen in the doorway, hand still holding the knob.

Kyungsoo nearly flings himself onto the floor in his haste to remove himself from Chanyeol’s lap. He wipes the saliva from his lips and begins buttoning his shirt. His brother has tears streaming down both cheeks, and Kyungsoo feels like the biggest piece of shit in the world. He doesn’t recall ever promising that he wouldn’t kiss Chanyeol, but his brother is clearly devastated, so he sees no point in arguing.

“Baek-“

Baekhyun doesn’t stick around to hear what Kyungsoo is going to say. He runs through the door and jumps the porch steps.

“Baek, wait!” Kyungsoo gets up, taking no time to explain anything to Chanyeol. “Fuck,” he curses under his breath as he chases after Baekhyun.

“He’s locked himself in his room,” his mother says when Kyungsoo rips the front door open. “You broke his little heart.”

“Thanks, mom,” Kyungsoo says with a contemptuous scowl. “I’m gonna go talk to him.”

It takes Kyungsoo an unreasonable amount of time to work up the courage to knock on Baekhyun’s door. He doesn’t attempt to open it. Even if it was unlocked, he’s not sure he can bear looking into Baekhyun’s eyes right now. So he paces in the hallway for a while, sighing periodically and mentally kicking himself. He knows he didn’t do anything wrong, but he hates himself for this; Baekhyun is going to hate him.

Why does Chanyeol have to be so attractive? Why did Kyungsoo have to be drawn in by his charm? Why, of all things, did Baekhyun have to walk in on them making out? Especially now, two days after his hybrid hormones decided to enhance all of his emotions.

Kyungsoo sighs into his hands and knocks on the door.

“Baek?” He speaks softly, trying to sound as sorry and as sympathetic as possible. “Baek, will you let me in?”

“No! I don’t wanna talk to you!”

Kyungsoo presses his forehead to the door. “Baek, please. I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean for—”

“For me to see that?” Baekhyun finishes for him, sounding much closer to the door now. “If you didn’t mean for it to happen, then it wouldn’t have happened.”

Kyungsoo is taken aback by that statement; when did his little brother get so wise?

“No, Baek…Baekhyunnie, it’s not like that, okay? Please open the door.”

“No! I don’t wanna see your face, I’m too angry at you.”

Kyungsoo rubs his eyes with one hand, pressing hard until he sees little white spots. He pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a heavy sigh, realizing there’s absolutely nothing he can say to make this situation better.

“I told you before, Chanyeol’s— Baek, you’re too young. It doesn’t matter what—”

“So what!?” Baekhyun is right against the door now. “I won’t always be little. But it doesn’t matter anymore, because you ruined everything!”

“Baek, I’m sorry, okay? I’m a shitty brother, and I’m sorry.”

The silence from the other side of the door is heartbreaking to Kyungsoo. His heart feels heavy, slowly sinking to the pit of his stomach. He wishes Baekhyun would open the door for him, but he understands his little brother’s anger.

Eventually, Kyungsoo gives up and leaves Baekhyun to be angry in peace. He only hopes that Baekhyun will cool down and give him the chance to talk to him.

Kyungsoo drops himself onto the couch, on the cushion furthest away from his mother, and sighs.

“Does he hate you?”

Kyungsoo turns his head to give his mother a few unamused blinks. She leans over and pats her son’s knee.

“Don’t worry, he’ll come around.”


	5. Chapter 5

He’s sitting on his bed with his legs crossed, contentedly watching Chanyeol mow his lawn with his shirt off. It’s hot and humid today, and the sweat makes his tan skin glisten. It takes Chanyeol almost an hour to finish his backyard before he moves to the front, up where Baekhyun no longer has a view of him from his window. So, he turns away and lays down, ready to spend another day alone in his room.

He knows he’s being stubborn and dragging things out longer than he should, but he can’t help feeling betrayed by his brother. It’s been a week since he saw Kyungsoo and Chanyeol kissing, but his anger hasn’t faded. Maybe Kyungsoo is right, maybe he is too young for Chanyeol to ever like him, but that doesn’t mean Kyungsoo should have wiped out any chance for it to happen.

He hears Kyungsoo coming down the hallway and the sigh he lets out before knocking on the door.

“Baek?”

He refuses to answer. Kyungsoo attempts turning the knob, but it’s locked. He knocks again but Baekhyun still doesn’t respond.

“I’m leaving now. I just wanted to say goodbye.” Kyungsoo leans close to the door, straining his ears to hear anything, any slight noise, anything to reassure him that Baekhyun cares he’s leaving. “Well,” he finally says, voice low and unsteady, “bye then. I’ll miss you Baekhyunnie.”

Ignoring Kyungsoo hurts Baekhyun’s heart a little; he’s upset, but he loves his brother. Still, he doesn’t speak or get up to open the door. He remains motionless on his bed as he listens to Kyungsoo tell their mother goodbye, and then as he exits the house.

Baekhyun’s stomach turns and his eyes line with tears. With his window open, he can hear Kyungsoo and Chanyeol chatting. He can’t make out what they’re saying, but it doesn’t matter to him. He should have told Kyungsoo goodbye. He should have given him a hug and told him he’ll miss him.

Kyungsoo’s car starts and Baekhyun jumps off his bed. He dashes down the hall, tripping over his own feet and bouncing off the wall, determined to catch his brother before he leaves. He throws open the front door, jumps over the porch steps, and stops. 

Kyungsoo is already gone.

Baekhyun walks slowly to the sidewalk, arms limp, body cold despite the summer heat. The taillights of Kyungsoo’s car taunt him as the car bounces over every bump and dip in the road.

He’s unaware of Chanyeol’s presence until he feels a hand land on his shoulder. He looks up and quickly wipes away his tears with the back of his hand.

“What do you want?” he questions, feigning annoyance. The tremble of his chin and bottom lip gives him away, however, and Chanyeol just squeezes his shoulder. He jerks out of Chanyeol’s grasp and sniffles, blinks the remaining tears out of his eyes. “I’m fine.”

“Baek sweetie, come in and eat lunch.” His mother is standing on the porch gazing at him with motherly concern. She takes Baekhyun by the shoulders when he walks by her, and turns back to give Chanyeol a grateful smile.

Baekhyun can’t explain it, but he can just feel himself growing up. He’s been especially moody since Kyungsoo left and he knows he’s gotten taller too, by a noticeable amount, in just the couple short weeks Kyungsoo has been gone. He remembers it taking years for Kyungsoo to gain just a few inches before he finally stopped growing.

Being a hybrid is weird.

His chubby kitten cheeks have slimmed, which is the one thing he was hoping for, so he’s grateful for that. He thinks he looks more mature now, with a little pointy chin and the kind of defined jawline he’s always enjoyed looking at on other boys. Because of this, he’s become more conscious of taking care of himself, helping himself to the apple scented hair product Kyungsoo left behind in the bathroom. He finds he actually likes styling his hair. And, when he accidentally spills his mother’s makeup bag onto the bathroom floor, he finds out he looks fierce with black eyeliner.

Along with physical changes, he notices a difference in his actions as well.

He has a newfound love of solitude. Which, he thinks, may just be a side effect of growing up with Kyungsoo, or maybe it’s his underlying feline tendencies finally coming out. He’s never seen a house cat in person, but he knows they like to be alone. He’s decided he won’t begin to worry unless he forms an urge to use a litter box. Other than that, though, puberty is going rather well.

There’s very little time left before Baekhyun will be spending nearly all the hours of sunlight in a brick building. So, in order to keep what little sanity he has left, he’s laid himself down in the grass in the backyard to enjoy the summer sun, homework free, for one last time.

His mother bought him his first cellphone two days ago and, after hours of struggle and googling, he figured out how to add music to it. He dug through Kyungsoo’s desk drawers to find a pair of headphones, and made his way outside.

It’s not hot out today, the humidity is fairly low and there’s a nice, constant breeze keeping him cool. He’s wearing a t-shirt that fits more like a crop top now because of his wild growth spurt, and a pair of capris that used to be his favorite jeans.

He really needs to go shopping for new clothes.

He lifts his head to glance at his phone sitting on his stomach, curious as to how much time has passed since he came outside. Then he changes the song to something slower, more relaxing, and lays his head back on his arms.

He’s thinking about what kind of clothes he’d like to buy when he inevitably convinces his mother he no longer fits into anything he owns, which should be easy when she sees his bellybutton making an appearance at dinner later. It’ll be a complete wardrobe change, which is exciting. Maybe he’ll get some cool graphic tees and bomber jackets, and those jeans that are tight and purposely ripped up the legs. He’s seen Chanyeol dressed like that a few times before and thinks it looks fashionable and handsome. He honestly thinks Chanyeol looks hot as hell like that, but he doubts anyone would see him that way. He has cat ears atop his head, for crying out loud.

His lips turn down into a sad pout at that thought. He’s noticed over the years the way people look at him sometimes. Hybrids are rare nowadays; he knows this. Some people have never seen one in person. Some don’t know how to act around him, they gawk or ask intrusive questions. He’s had his feelings hurt a few times while out with his mother or Kyungsoo. Someone grabbed his tail once when he was little; he was too afraid to leave the house for weeks after that incident.

People’s words don’t bother him much anymore, and he’s grown used to the stares from strangers. Now that he’s older, people don’t try to pet him, which he appreciates. He may be part cat, but he’s still essentially human.

He’s beginning to fall asleep when a sudden shade falls over him. He snaps his eyes open, expecting to see his mother, but he’s met with Chanyeol’s smiling face blocking the sun from his eyes.

Baekhyun scrambles to his feet and tries to smooth his shirt down, wanting to hide as much of his stomach as he can with this tiny shirt on.

Standing in front of Chanyeol, he realizes that he’s grown more than he thought. Chanyeol no longer towers over him. He’s still a whole head taller, but Baekhyun at least reaches up to his shoulders now.

“Wow, you look—” Chanyeol leans back and shakes his head in disbelief. “Has it been two weeks or two years since I last saw you?” He measures their height difference with his hand and hums, intrigued.

Baekhyun hasn’t seen or spoken to Chanyeol since the day Kyungsoo left. He doesn’t really know what to say to him. He’d not only cried, but yelled at him that day. He’s ashamed of the way he acted then, but he deems out of whack hormones a valid excuse.

“No it-it’s only been two weeks.” He struggles to make eye contact, though it should be easier now with his new height, for his neck at least. “I had a growth spurt.”

“No kidding,” Chanyeol says, “you’re like two feet taller.”

Baekhyun just nods, still unsure of how to act around Chanyeol now.

“Anyway,” Chanyeol says, recognizing the awkward silence, “I saw you out here and decided to come see how you’re doing.”

“Fine,” he shrugs, “I guess.”

“I just kinda figured you would have come over by now to play videos games.”

He blinks up at Chanyeol; he looks genuinely concerned. “Well I-I just didn’t think—” He sighs, frustrated with himself. “I wasn’t sure if you would want to hang out with me anymore now that Kyungsoo is gone.”

“Baekhyun, we’re friends,” Chanyeol says cheerfully.

His tail wraps around his hips and his ears flatten. “Kyungsoo said that I’m just a kid. I’m too young to be your friend.”

“Look, I know you have a crush on me, okay?”

Baekhyun’s cheeks flush bright red, so he keeps his head down to hide them from Chanyeol.

“Like yeah, you may be too young for like…that, but we can still be friends. It’s lonely playing games by myself.”

“Will you let me win?”

Chanyeol laughs and throws his arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders. “No promises, little dude.” He begins walking them toward his house. “You know, I didn’t know that hybrids do actual cat things.”

Baekhyun makes a face. “What are you talking about?”

Chanyeol stops walking and stares dumbly at Baekhyun. “Well, you were just laying out here in the sun.” The way Baekhyun is looking at him makes him think he’s just said something incredibly stupid. “Uh, cats do that. You know? Just chill in the sun.”

Baekhyun continues staring, unsure whether he should be offended or not. He decides Chanyeol is too attractive to care. He hums. “It’s warm,” is all he offers with an indifferent shrug.

“Cute,” Chanyeol says offhandedly, and continues their walk.

Baekhyun spends every day for the next week and a half waiting for Chanyeol to get home from work. He sits in the kitchen with his phone, switching impatiently through YouTube videos, until he hears Chanyeol’s car pull into the driveway.

He has it down to a science. Chanyeol gets home, changes out of his work clothes, and then either orders out or makes something quick for himself to eat. Then, once he’s got the game all set up and ready to play, he comes to collect Baekhyun to begin their video game session that will last late into the night.

He’d once stayed until passed the 11pm curfew his mother gave him and got in trouble, but Chanyeol smiled and sweet talked Baekhyun’s mother out of punishing him.

By the last day of summer vacation, Baekhyun is crushing harder than ever on his incredibly hot, wonderfully sweet neighbor.

“I’m sad that school starts tomorrow,” Baekhyun says. He’s lying on his back on the couch, knees bent to rest on the cushion between Chanyeol and himself, and mashing the buttons on his controller. He doesn’t stand a chance against Chanyeol but he’s trying his best. “My mom is gonna make me stay at home and do homework instead of letting me come over and play.”

“Awe, little Baek is gonna miss me,” Chanyeol teases. He hurries to dodge Baekhyun’s attempt to kick him in the face. “Just sneak over here, it’s no big deal.”

Baekhyun’s eyes go wide and he pauses the game. “I-I can’t do that.” He frowns at the way Chanyeol grins at him, like he’s mocking him. “My mom would kill me!”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol says as they resume the game, “only if she catches you.”

Baekhyun quickly loses and turns his head, “I’m telling Kyungsoo you’re being a bad influence.”

“I’m not scared of him, go ahead.”

The confidence in Chanyeol’s statement has Baekhyun in a place somewhere between shock and arousal. He hurries to start another round and change the subject.

“Were you popular in school?”

Chanyeol hums for a moment, eyes fixed on the television. “Kinda, yeah. I had lots of friends, but they only liked me because my family was rich. I don’t talk to anyone that I went to school with now.”

“Are you saying that your only friend in the whole world is a fourteen year old kid?” He lets Chanyeol kill him in the game so that he can turn and give him a cheeky grin.

“Yeah, it’s pretty sad, huh?”

He doesn’t know if it’s his animal instincts, or the fact that Chanyeol is so damn hot, but he wants to pounce on him and bite him for being sarcastic. Instead, he finds some self-control and just sticks his tongue out at him.

“I think I’m pretty cool for a kid.”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol agrees, reaching forward to scratch at Baekhyun’s scalp, “you’re a cool little cat.”

Baekhyun eventually calls his mother and says he won’t be home for dinner because Chanyeol ordered a pizza for them to share. He doesn’t even bother to ask what she’s cooking, because nothing will ever beat pizza.

It’s nearing Baekhyun’s curfew when the food finally arrives, so he eats quickly. The game has been turned off and they just have something random playing on the television for background noise as they chat.

“So are you excited about going into high school?”

Baekhyun has to think about that for a minute. He’s leaving the school that he’s used to, where everyone knows him, and going to a much larger building with many more students he’s never met. He likes people though, for the most part, so he’s not entirely sure how to answer.

He settles for a noncommittal, “I guess.”

They briefly argue over the last slice of pizza and have to play rock, paper, scissors to make the decision. Chanyeol wins, but gives the piece to Baekhyun anyway.

“I’m kinda nervous. Everyone was nice to me in middle school. Like, there were people I talked to, but I wouldn’t call any of them actual friends. I’ve only ever hung out with Kyungsoo…and now you,” he adds as an afterthought.

“Well, I’m the coolest person in the world, so you’re lucky.” He reaches over and pulls Baekhyun into a headlock, laughing when Baekhyun’s tail begins twitching wildly.

Baekhyun shoves him away and scoots back to his own cushion. “You’re so not helping me not have a crush on you.”

Chanyeol throws his head back and laughs loud and amused. “It’s because I’m so cool; I can’t help it.” He notices the time and lets Baekhyun know he has to get home; his charm won’t work on Baekhyun’s mother every time.

“You’ll find someone in high school that you think is way cooler than me, don’t worry.”

Baekhyun looks up from his shoes he’s attempting to tie, face scrunched in confusion.

“Probably not as handsome though,” Chanyeol says with his eyes closed; so full of himself.

“I’m going home,” Baekhyun responds, voice flat, unamused.

He thinks about that statement for the rest of the night. Maybe he will meet someone better than Chanyeol, someone his age and just as fun to be around. He thinks about Chanyeol’s large, pretty eyes, and the dimple in his cheek, and sighs. But, who could possibly ever be more attractive than Chanyeol?


	6. Chapter 6

The high school in his neighborhood has always seemed big to Baekhyun. He learns on his first day that he was very, very wrong. The building isn’t big, it’s a never ending maze of doors and hallways, and thousands of kids he doesn’t recognize, all staring at his ears. He’s never felt so small in his life, not even when standing beside Chanyeol before he hit puberty.

The schedule in his hands might as well be in a foreign language, because he has no idea what any of the numbers and letters mean. He’s panicking, the noise around him amplified through his furry ears; he feels like he’s going in useless circles around the same part of the building.

He checks the clock on the wall hanging a few inches from the ceiling: eight minutes until the bell rings and he’s late for class. He really wishes Kyungsoo was here right now; he needs help, and a hug. At least his mother sent him off last night with Chanyeol and her credit card to buy clothes that actually fit him. How lucky that he gets to be fashionable and nervous instead of nervous in a child’s medium.

A tall boy in a football jersey runs past him, knocking their shoulders together, and everything in Baekhyun’s arms falls to the floor and scatters. He grabs his shoulder and tells himself not to cry in the middle of the hall on his first day.

Another look at the clock: six minutes.

He takes a deep breath. The hallway is beginning to clear out and he needs to collect his things from the tiled floor. He grabs his notebook first, then his pencil. He reaches out for his schedule, but another hand beats him to it. He looks up and gasps.

There’s another hybrid at this school.

His heart pounds in excitement as his eyes scan the pretty hybrid’s face. His hair is white, matching the fur on his pointed ears, and his eyes are more of a feline shape than human. When he smiles, Baekhyun notices the fangs that are much larger than his own.

“Hi,” Baekhyun says breathlessly. “I’m sorry I’m staring, I’ve just never met another hybrid before outside of the shelter.”

“Really?”

Baekhyun does a slow spin, turning to the new voice coming from behind him. His jaw drops; there’s another, even prettier, taller hybrid standing behind him. His hair is white as well, but he has a much meaner face than the first boy. He’s intimidating, but beautiful.

“You two smell the same,” Baekhyun says in a small, unsure voice, hoping that it’s not a weird statement.

The boys move to stand beside each other and they take Baekhyun’s breath away. They’re ethereal, like white-haired angels that should have a golden aura and soft music playing around them.

“We get that look a lot,” the shorter one says; his smile is crooked and cute. “I’m Minseok, this is my brother Sehun.”

He knows his name, he’s sure he knows his name. It’s been the same for fourteen years, why can’t he recall it right now?

The taller one, Sehun, leans forward and down to Baekhyun’s eyelevel. “Do you have a name?” he asks with an amused grin.

Oh yeah! “I’m, um, Baekhyun.”

“You’re adorable,” Minseok coos. “Look at your little fangs!”

Baekhyun’s face reddens, not used to attention like this from someone so pretty. He grasps onto his tail and twists it between his hands. He’s suddenly self-conscious, worried that his fangs are smaller than they should be, feeling ugly standing in front of these two boys.

“You’re freaking him out,” Sehun says, rolling his eyes at his brother. “You always come on so strong.”

“I’m not hitting on him,” Minseok hisses. “I’m just admiring his cute little face.” He holds a hand out, palm up, under Baekhyun’s chin. “You can’t tell me he’s not the cutest little cat you’ve ever seen.”

Sehun rubs his forehead with the tips of his fingers and sighs. “Min, you are so damn aggravating.” He looks at Baekhyun who’s still staring at the brothers in awe.

“Do you need help finding your class?” Minseok asks with a radiant smile.

Baekhyun can only nod and let himself be swept away by the two handsome felines.

All of his classes play out in similar fashion. The teacher hands out a syllabus for the semester and reads it, then discusses some of the things they’ll be doing. It’s boring and doesn’t require any attention, which is lucky because Baekhyun can’t stop his mind from wandering back to the two hybrids he’d met that morning.

Minseok and Sehun are unbelievably gorgeous; they must have hit the genetic lottery. He wonders what their parents must look like. He also thinks that, other than their matching hair color, they look nothing alike. Sehun is tall like Chanyeol, slim with fierce eyes and killer bone structure. Minseok, on the other hand, is built like Baekhyun; he’s short with slightly rounded cheeks, but his eyes are so unique.

Baekhyun looks up when the girl in line behind him taps his shoulder. He was lost deep in thought, paying no attention to the lunch line moving forward. He pays for his food with the bills his mother gave him that morning and steps into the cafeteria, his earlier anxiety returning. Tables are full of students chatting happily. Friends sitting together, everyone with people they know. Baekhyun recognizes a few people from his middle school, but he doesn’t know them enough to feel comfortable just walking over and sitting with them.

“It’s a tough decision, huh?”

He recognizes that voice. And that scent.

“You can come sit with us.” Minseok smiles sweetly, making Baekhyun’s heart skip. When Baekhyun agrees, Minseok loops their arms and drags Baekhyun across the lunch room.

“Do people always stare like this?” Baekhyun asks, wanting to curl into himself to hide away from the gazes.

“They just wish they were as attractive as us is all,” Minseok answers. “It’ll take some time, but you’ll get used to being one of the hottest people in school.”

Baekhyun sits beside Minseok at the table, across from Sehun. The rest of the attached seats around the table are empty.

“I-I’m not hot,” Baekhyun stammers; it comes out almost like a question. Minseok only raises his eyebrows in response.

He learns that Minseok and Sehun are seniors. They’re both seventeen, both straight A students on track to getting full ride scholarships to any college they desire. Minseok is older by just a few weeks, and that information has Baekhyun tipping his head in confusion.

“Did you think we were real brothers?” Minseok asks with a laugh. “As if. I’m too pretty to be blood related to Sehun. Yikes.”

Baekhyun laughs; he actually thinks Sehun is much more attractive, but he doesn’t say anything. Kyungsoo would consider that one of those rude things that shouldn’t be said aloud.

“So, were you guys adopted from a shelter too?”

“Ew, no,” Sehun blurts out.

Minseok glares at his brother, remembering Baekhyun mentioning coming from a shelter. “Don’t be rude,” Minseok sneers. “There’s nothing wrong with shelter cats.” He gives Baekhyun a reassuring smile and kicks Sehun’s shin under the table. Minseok explains that he’s always lived with his mother, and that Sehun’s father adopted him from some fancy breeder when he was very young.

“My mom married his dad when we were kids. I’ve been stuck with Sehun since I was ten.”

Sehun rolls his eyes. “No, I’ve been stuck with you. You’re horrible to live with. This has been my burden to bear.”

Lunch goes by too fast, in Baekhyun’s opinion. The brothers are interesting and funny. He enjoys talking to them and is grateful they allowed him to sit with them. He was scared he’d be that weird catboy sitting alone at lunch.

To his surprise, Minseok asks him for his number. He fumbles for his phone as the bell rings to signal the end of lunch and hands it over to Minseok so he can enter his number. He types his number into Minseok’s phone at the same time, and then they switch back. He smiles; he just made an actual friend. Two friends, maybe, he’s still a little unsure about Sehun. He’s rather quiet.

When the school day ends, his mother drops him off at home with the instructions to finish his homework before she returns from work. He promises to do just that, and then gets out of the car, waving goodbye as he skips up the walkway and into his house.

He takes a seat at the kitchen table and quickly realizes he doesn’t have any homework. A peek through the window tells him Chanyeol isn’t home yet.

He looks around the room, unsure of what to do with himself. He’s never been left home alone before; when he was in middle school his mother would stay home after picking him up. She told him on the drive home earlier that he’s old enough to look after himself for a few hours, an exciting and scary responsibility.

So, like any teenager left home alone for the first time, he sets off to do all the things his mother would normally yet at him for doing. He glances around the room, it’s uncomfortably silent. He can think of nothing to do that his mother wouldn’t approve of.

Does this make him uncool? Should he have a secret life that his mother doesn’t know about, or something he should be doing while she’s not around? He’s never been a good liar though, and dislikes dishonestly in general. Kyungsoo has always called him a mama’s boy, which he doesn’t think is a bad thing; he loves his mother.

A car door shuts and Baekhyun perks up. Chanyeol is home.

He flings himself off the chair and runs for the door, intent on catching his neighbor before he gets inside his house.

“Chanyeol!”

He turns and nearly drops his bag when Baekhyun slams into him. “Hey. Hi. What are you so excited for?”

Baekhyun’s cheeks burn when he realizes he’s hugging Chanyeol, so he takes a large step back and smiles the awkward feeling away. “Guess what?”

Chanyeol puffs his cheeks out and shakes his head. “I don’t know, what?”

“I made two friends today!”

Chanyeol motions with his head for Baekhyun to follow him into his house. It’s hot and he’s pouring sweat in his stiff work clothes. “That’s awesome,” he says as he loosens his tie. He watches Baekhyun go up the steps and turn to wait for him at the door. He slips the key into the lock and lets Baekhyun go in first. “Where’s your mom?”

“Work.” He sits on the couch and Chanyeol goes to the back of the house, presumably changing into more comfortable clothes. “So, they’re seniors. And brothers. And both cat hybrids.”

Chanyeol yells something unintelligible from somewhere far away. He reenters the living room, now dressed in a plain black t-shirt and jeans, and Baekhyun stares at him. Chanyeol rolls his eyes and snaps to get Baekhyun’s attention.

“What are they like?” he asks with a face more serious than Baekhyun would have expected. Chanyeol recognizes Baekhyun’s confusion and smiles. “Kyungsoo told me to make sure you don’t make bad decisions while he’s gone.”

Baekhyun takes offense to that. “Do I really look like someone who’s ever made a bad decision in their life?”

“Fair point,” Chanyeol agrees. He turns the television on to supply some background noise while he cooks himself something to eat. “You want some spaghetti?”

Baekhyun gets up on his knees and faces backward on the couch. He nods. Chanyeol has an apron tied around himself as he works in the kitchen, and Baekhyun can’t take his eyes off of him. He looks so handsome.

“So, are you gonna tell me about them?”

“Oh yeah!” Baekhyun turns his head quickly, hoping Chanyeol didn’t notice him starting. “They’re both very pretty. They have white hair which is super cool. Minseok’s eyes look a lot like real cat’s eyes.” He thinks, trying to remember anything of importance in relation to the brothers. “Oh, and Sehun is really tall, just like you.”

Chanyeol wiggles his eyebrows at that information. “Wow, I can’t believe you found someone more handsome than me on the first day of school.”

“He’s not,” Baekhyun says quickly, honestly. “I’ve never seen anyone more handsome than you.”

“Okay,” Chanyeol laughs, “enough of that. How much spaghetti do you want?”

Baekhyun rubs his belly and lets out a slow exhale, thoroughly stuffed. If he was at his own house, he’d unbutton his jeans to make himself more comfortable. That doesn’t seem like a good idea while sitting on the couch beside Chanyeol.

He didn’t know Chanyeol knew how to cook things from scratch; he didn’t know spaghetti could taste this good. They each eat two bowls and promptly melt into the couch, letting the episodes auto-play on Netflix.

“That was delicious.”

“Thank you.”

“When my mom gets mad because I’m not hungry when she cooks dinner, she’s gonna come yell at you.”

Chanyeol turns his head slowly and flares his nostrils at Baekhyun, who’s got this little, proud smile on his lips. “You are such a little punk. By the way,” he says, holding up his phone he’s been tapping at for a while, “is this your friend Minseok?”

Baekhyun almost falls head first into Chanyeol’s lap when he gets up on his knees and leans forward to grab ahold of his phone. He scrolls through the Instagram page Chanyeol has open and stops at a picture of his new friend in nothing more than a small pair of swim trunks. He gulps hard.

“Y-yeah, that’s him.” He feels hot all of a sudden.

“Wow, your face just got crazy red.” Chanyeol takes his phone back and barks out a laugh when he sees the picture Baekhyun had stopped on. “You little pervert.” He taps at his screen for a second. “Here’s his brother’s, but—” He pulls the phone out of Baekhyun’s reach. “I’m not sure I wanna show you his.” He narrows his eyes. “Can you behave?”

Baekhyun sneers and snatches the phone from Chanyeol’s hand. His throat goes dry. “Wow,” he breathes; he bites softly into his bottom lip. Sehun’s pictures seem professionally taken, from the lighting, to the seductive posing. Baekhyun needs to download Instagram immediately.

“Hey Baek?” Chanyeol has to take his phone away to get his attention. “You good over there?”

“I, uh, yeah.” He clears his throat. “I think I might download Instagram.”

Chanyeol laughs loud. “You better be careful kid, they look like they’d tear you apart.”

Baekhyun doesn’t know what that means, but he thinks it doesn’t sound so bad.

“I don’t like the face you’re making thinking about that,” Chanyeol says. He waves his hand in the air, “Get home before your mom does.”


	7. Chapter 7

For many weeks, Baekhyun spends a concerning amount of time scrolling through Sehun’s Instagram pictures. There are thousands of posts, mostly selfies; he seems to be undressed more often than not. Baekhyun would never tell anyone, but he shamelessly touches himself to Sehun’s provocative pictures more than once.

This makes it hard for him to become friends with Sehun, however, because he can’t often bring himself to meet his eyes. He’s admittedly a little ashamed of jerking off to pictures of Sehun’s perfect face and perfect body.

He’s become quite close to Minseok, though. They text regularly, and Minseok even walked Baekhyun through making his very own Instagram account. He has two pictures and four followers: Minseok, Sehun, Chanyeol and Jongin, a non-hybrid friend he met in his art class. Sehun and Minseok may have over 80,000 followers between them, but Baekhyun thinks it’s quality over quantity. All of Baekhyun’s followers are hot boys, and that’s all that really matters.

He was surprised when Chanyeol followed him, and immediately followed him back so he could stalk through all of his pictures, all the way back to his first photo three years ago. It's amusing seeing Chanyeol at sixteen, throwing up peace signs in every picture, or making silly faces. He was hot then, too.

Baekhyun forms a routine: go to school, come home, scroll through Instagram, eat dinner, go play at Chanyeol’s if he doesn’t have homework.

It’s Friday and he’s looking forward to two days off from school. His mother cooked his favorite dinner, and brought home his favorite ice cream for dessert. Sehun had posted yet another shirtless photo of himself earlier, so Baekhyun is having an all-around great day.

While his mother is grabbing bowls and scooping ice cream for the two of them, Baekhyun decides to check Instagram. Minseok posted a photo of them together a few days ago and tagged him, so he’s been gaining followers like crazy. It’s a little stressful, for some reason he feels like he needs to post more pictures now to keep people happy.

He realizes why Kyungsoo has always hated social media.

A picture of Chanyeol with a filter that gives him cat ears atop his head makes Baekhyun laugh. It was posted a few hours ago; he can tell Chanyeol is sitting on his couch in the picture. The caption is simple, just an emoji sticking its tongue out next to highlighted text tagging Baekhyun in the photo.

He types a quick comment: are you making fun of me?!

His phone beeps when his mother sets his dessert on the table.

“You’re not supposed to have your phone at the table, you know that Baekhyun.”

“Sorry, mom.” He puts his phone away and digs into his ice cream.

“Was it one of your new friends?”

He pulls the spoon from his mouth and shakes his head. “Chanyeol. He was asking when I was gonna come over.” His mother nods slowly and hums. “What?”

“Oh, nothing sweetie. I just…I don’t want you to get hurt, is all.”

Baekhyun blinks and purses his lips. “Why would I get hurt?” When he finishes his ice cream he happily skips to the sink and sets his bowl inside.

“Chanyeol is much older than you, honey. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up only to be let down.”

“Minseok said that in cat years I’m technically seventy-two.” His mother frowns at that statement, so he goes and gives her a hug, rubbing his cheek on her should. “Just kidding. I know though, I’m not getting my hopes up, don’t worry. We’re just friends.”

That seems to console his mother enough, and she waves him off, knowing he’s waiting for her to tell him it’s okay to go next door now.

Baekhyun wastes most of his weekend eating junk food on Chanyeol’s couch. On Sunday his mother is busy with work until late, so she agrees to let him stay and eat dinner with Chanyeol. He hangs up with his mother and gives Chanyeol a thumbs up.

They sit at the table this time, like civilized people, Chanyeol says as he’s passing the bowl of mashed potatoes to Baekhyun. Their conversation is loud and fast-paced, jumping from one topic to another, and there’s lots of laughter. Chanyeol asks Baekhyun if he liked his latest picture on Instagram and Baekhyun rolls his eyes.

“I don’t understand filters like that.” He briefly fights Chanyeol for the last piece of salmon; he wins and flashes a triumphant smile. “People act so weird around hybrids because we look different, but then they want to use filters to have ears or tails like us.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widen. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you Baek, I—”

Baekhyun’s laugh cuts Chanyeol’s apology off. “No, you looked cute, don’t worry.” He grimaces, but continues. “I’m not offended, I just don’t get it is all.”

“You’re persistent, you know that?”

“What do you mean?”

Chanyeol smiles around his fork, but doesn’t answer. “So, have you made the move on Sehun yet?”

Baekhyun chokes on his mouthful of food and gulps down some water. “No! What— Why would I do that?”

It’s Chanyeol’s turn to roll his eyes now. “I see you liking all his posts on Instagram.” He’s teasing Baekhyun, enjoying the way he blushes all the way up to the tips of his little human ears. “Especially all the ones where he’s shirtless.”

Baekhyun wishes he had something to hide behind, or something to throw at Chanyeol. He’s absolutely mortified at being called out like this. “He is…attractive, yes. But I-I would never— I couldn’t…do that.” He sighs and rubs a hand over his pointed ear, letting it be pushed down and then flop back upright. “He would never like me anyway.”

“Why would you say that?” Chanyeol sits forward and sets his fork down; he gives Baekhyun the same look his mother gives him when he’s upset.

“Well, have you seen him? He…looks like that and I’m just,” he motions to himself with a wave of his hand, “I’m just me.”

Chanyeol lets out a long breath and leans back, then stretches his arms up above his head. “Oh boy.” He gives Baekhyun a small, tight-lipped smile. “How do I say this without sounding like I need to be arrested?”

He digs his phone out of his pocket and begins tapping at the screen. Baekhyun sits by in confused silence, just watching him. When Chanyeol holds his phone up so that Baekhyun can see the screen, it’s a selfie he posted on his Instagram.

“Why are you making me look at a picture of myself?”

“Baek, you’re a…handsome…young man.” Chanyeol shakes his head, his words coming out awkward and stiff.

“But, Sehun—”

“And,” Chanyeol cuts in, “you’re cool enough to be friends with the coolest person in the world.” He grins. “Me.”

“But—”

“And, if you’re cool enough for me, then you’re cool enough for some fancy pants, Instagram famous cat.”

“Chanyeol, I—”

“No.”

“No?” Baekhyun asks.

“No,” Chanyeol repeats, pointing a finger in Baekhyun’s face. “I will not let you argue this with me. You’re hot and that’s—” Chanyeol clears his throat and places his palms flat on the table. “That’s…very inappropriate, I realize.”

Baekhyun puts his head down for a moment, digesting everything Chanyeol just said to him. He lifts his head with a self-satisfied little smirk. “You think I’m hot?”

Chanyeol can only smile. “You’re such a little punk.”

It takes Baekhyun nearly six months of sharing a lunch table with them to realize it, but after an agonizingly uncomfortable meal, he’s come to the conclusion that Minseok and Sehun might be a little closer than brothers should be.

When he walks into the lunch room, he easily spots the brothers sitting at their usual table, so he strolls over and drops himself in the seat beside Minseok. Everything is normal at first. They chat and make fun of each other, Minseok complains about the cafeteria food; Sehun says a maximum of five words at a time.

It’s routine.

But then, Minseok makes a comment that catches Baekhyun off guard.

“You smell really good today, Sehunnie.”

To anyone else, that would seem an innocent comment. People smell good all the time; people are complimented on their perfume frequently. But to Baekhyun, a hybrid that understands the importance of scents, it’s comes off as an oddly placed remark. Especially to your own brother.

He doesn’t say anything, just lets the comment slip by as if unnoticed. But, he thinks about it for the rest of the day. Perhaps he is weird like Kyungsoo has always called him, maybe scent isn’t a measure of attraction to Minseok and Sehun like it is to him. His instincts can’t be that different from theirs, though. A cat is a cat, no matter how human they may be. And, Baekhyun knows that he would never tell anyone how good they smell if he wasn’t at least somewhat interested in having sex with them.

He smiles to himself in the middle of a boring math lecture; the only person he’s ever felt the need to inform that they smell great is Chanyeol.

“Hey you.”

Baekhyun goes rigid, startled by the arm catching him by the shoulder.

“I know you said you had to walk home today. Would you like us to drive you instead?”

How could he possibly say no to Minseok’s smiling face?

Now that he’s got this hunch, he can’t help but pay extra attention to the way the brothers interact. He keeps vigilant eyes on them from the backseat, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. He’s looking for any glance, any touch, anything that he would never dream of doing with his own brother. But, nothing happens. They arrive at his home without incident.

“Oh wow,” Minseok says as he puts the car in park in the street in front of Baekhyun's house, “is that Chanyeol?”

Baekhyun looks up and then quickly back down to his hands in his lap. “Uh, yeah that’s him.”

“He’s crazy hot,” Sehun says.

Baekhyun looks up and both brothers are staring back at him. He has a bad feeling about how the rest of his day is going to go.

“Nice to meet you.” Minseok holds out his hand for Chanyeol to take. “Baekhyun literally never stops talking about you.”

Chanyeol eyes the white haired cats; he’s seen them many times through a screen, but never in person. Baekhyun stands quietly behind them, looking terrified of what they’re going to say.

“Minseok, right?”

“Mhmm,” Minseok grins, entirely feline. He loops his arm with Sehun’s and drags him close. “This is my brother Sehun.”

Baekhyun catches something he doesn’t think he’s supposed to see as Minseok holds onto his brother. Sehun places his hand just above the base of Minseok’s tail and strokes half its length. Baekhyun can’t chalk this one up to a difference in instinct, the gesture is unmistakably intimate, no matter the cat.

When he finally looks up, after Sehun removes his hand from Minseok’s tail, all three boys are staring at him from Chanyeol’s porch.

“You just gonna stay out here on the sidewalk?”

Oh god, this is going to be terrible.

As it turns out, Minseok and Sehun get along rather well with Chanyeol. He keeps his eyes on them though, wanting to see how many other weird things he can catch them doing.

A lot, is the answer. Minseok and Sehun do a lot of weird things. How has he never noticed before?

It starts the moment they walk through the door, when Minseok bends down to untie his shoes. Sehun steadies him from behind by placing his hands on his hips, which isn’t too strange; it could almost be something a caring brother would do. But, Sehun slides a hand over and brushes his fingers through the fur at the base of Minseok’s tail. Minseok snaps upright and turns to slap Sehun’s hand away, but it’s not in anger. No, it’s more like he just doesn’t want Sehun doing that in front of someone else, because he smirks and speaks a few soft words only Sehun can hear.

Chanyeol seats himself in the chair at the end of the coffee table so the other three boys can all sit on the couch together. Baekhyun sits at one end, pressing himself close to the arm of the couch. There’s more than enough room for the brothers, but they squeeze close together, nearly sharing the same cushion.

Baekhyun looks to Chanyeol, trying to see if he notices the weird closeness between Sehun and Minseok, but he’s busy trying to get a round of Smash Bros. set up for the four of them.

They eventually begin playing and Baekhyun loses quickly. He can’t keep his focus on the game because his eyes keep darting to his left, afraid he’s going to miss something happening between Minseok and Sehun. He pretends to be upset when he loses and tosses his controller in the empty space between himself and Sehun. Minseok loses not long after Baekhyun and turns with his back to the arm of the couch. He bends his knees and rests his feet on Sehun’s thighs.

“That was fast,” Chanyeol remarks as he frantically smashes buttons.

Baekhyun turns his head, ready to give Chanyeol attitude, but his words get caught when he notices Minseok slowly sliding his foot higher up on Sehun’s thigh than it should be. He feels like he’s seeing something he shouldn’t be. There’s the slightest, almost undetectable hitch of Sehun’s breath, and then he rearranges himself in a way that makes sure Minseok’s heel digs into his crotch.

If Baekhyun wasn’t totally convinced before, he sure is now.

Sehun’s character dies and Chanyeol gives them all a victorious taunt. Baekhyun is used to it, and Sehun and Minseok don’t seem to mind how sore of a winner Chanyeol is. In fact, they don’t seem to notice anything other than every point of contact between their bodies. 

“Are you gonna stay for dinner, Baek?”

“Yeah, my mom said it’s okay.”

“Oh, we should probably get going then,” Minseok says as he gets to his feet.

Baekhyun watches him; he notices the way Minseok waves his tail, holding it high as Sehun watches it as if in a trance.

“You boys enjoy your dinner.”

The brothers leave and the room falls silent, Baekhyun staring at the door, and Chanyeol staring at him.

“So,” Chanyeol says slowly, “is it just me…or does it seem like they’re for sure gonna fuck the second they get home?”

“Oh my god! You noticed that too?” Baekhyun exclaims. He’s relieved he’s not alone in his suspicion. “I’ve been thinking that since Minseok said something weird to Sehun at lunch today.”

“What did he say?”

“He told Sehun he smelled really good.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Chanyeol thinks for a second, trying to reason why that’s a weird thing to say. “You told me that when you first met me.”

Baekhyun tips his head forward to look at Chanyeol like he’s an idiot. Chanyeol purses his lips and nods, realizing what Baekhyun’s face means.

“So, smell is like…a sexual thing for cats?”

“Kinda, yeah. Like, I know when someone smells good, obviously, but I’m not gonna make a point to let them know unless I wanted to—” He stops abruptly and gives Chanyeol a tight lipped smile. “Are you hungry? I’m hungry. Let’s go make dinner.”

Baekhyun gets up and marches straight to the kitchen in an attempt to hide his embarrassed cheeks. Chanyeol grins at the back of his head; he may not have finished his thought, but he knew what Baekhyun was going to say.


	8. Chapter 8

While he’s supposed to be doing homework, he opens a private tab on his phone and types a question into google that, if anyone were to see, he’d drop dead of embarrassment. There are pages of results, blogs, websites, all dedicated to hybrid physiology and heat cycles. Hundreds of thousands of articles he should have read long before his own body became the biggest issue in his life.

An article titled: _Is Your Hybrid in Heat?_ catches his eye and he gives it a hesitant tap.

The page is filled with paragraphs of information he should already know about his body, but middle school health class only focuses on human bodily changes. He learns that he’s a bit of a late bloomer, in terms of development; most male cat hybrids reach puberty years before he did. Apparently, the world is filled with savage, horny little ten year old cats.

He thinks back to what he was doing when he was ten. He spent a lot of time playing with Legos and watching cartoons. Last night he had to make himself come four times before his body would calm down; he misses Legos now more than ever.

As he reads, he takes in more and more important information. Back when he first went through puberty, he’d experienced a milder form of heat and, within the next six to nine months, he’ll fall into a regular cycle. He does some quick math in his head and grimaces; he’s at the nine month mark. Things are about to get rough for him.

The article supplies him with some chilling images of what exactly is happening to his testicles at the moment, and he exits out of the page, vowing to never research anything about his body again.

Eventually, his homework gets done. He shoves his math book into his backpack and kicks it under his desk, not wanting to have to look at it until Monday.

He checks his phone for the first time in a long time, and sees a few texts from Minseok, asking him if he wants to come over and hang out with him and Sehun. He stares at the texts for a while, wondering if his mom would let him leave this late at night. But he thinks, she’s met Sehun and Minseok, and liked them, so he doesn’t see why she wouldn’t.

He shouts down the hall to ask his mom if he can go out, and with her approval, he replies to Minseok with a ‘yes’ and a couple smiley faces. He gets a prompt response; they’re going to come pick him up, and he goes to his closet to change out of his sweat pants.

“Well, aren’t you looking like a dapper little cat tonight?” Minseok says with a little wink. He’s in the driver’s seat and looking as attractive as ever; and Sehun, he obviously looks gorgeous.

Baekhyun ignores Minseok’s compliment, but chuckles as he ducks his head to get into the back. “So, what are we doing tonight?”

Sehun turns his head; Baekhyun feels like he’s in a trance as they hold eye contact; he’s just so damn hot.

“We’re taking you to your first high school party.”

Baekhyun feels his blood pressure skyrocket, and he knows his wide eyes give away his nervousness.

“Relax, kitten,” Minseok says, looking back at him in the rearview mirror, “we won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

Baekhyun has seen movies. He knows what he’s expecting when he walks into the party: loud music, the smell of alcohol and smoke, people making out in dim corners. This party exceeds all of his expectations.

While there isn’t that characteristic smoke smell, he does eye a couple making out on a couch. Everyone is holding a red cup, lots of people are dancing or playing drinking games. He’s so out of his element here, and uncomfortable. He’s grateful Minseok has his arm looped with his, keeping him close, or else he would likely be having a panic attack.

Sehun hands him a cup of something that smells lethal. He doesn’t want to look like a baby, so he takes a big drink of it, then gags a bit as it slides painfully down his throat. Minseok sticks his tongue out at him and chugs half of his own cup.

Baekhyun does not like how alcohol tastes.

Alcohol, in fact, doesn’t taste so bad, Baekhyun realizes as he finishes a third cup. He doesn’t think he’s drunk, though. He knows he doesn’t feel entirely sober, but he’s definitely not drunk. His fingers feel wiggly and his lips are a little numb, but he’s for sure not drunk.

Still, he feels out of place. He recognizes all the popular kids from school scattered around the room, people he’d never talk to. And, even with the confidence boost of alcohol, he can’t bring himself to speak when Minseok and Sehun insert themselves into various conversations with the cool kids. They seem incredibly sociable tonight. So much for them not liking anyone at their school.

At one point, Sehun turns to him outside of the intense game of flip cup going on and gives him a smile. Baekhyun isn’t sure what it means, if it means anything at all. But, it gives him a warm, fuzzy feeling inside that he’s sure isn’t from the vodka he’s been drinking all night. He smiles back and Sehun just turns away; it makes Baekhyun’s heart flutter.

Someone holding three cups between both hands comes by to offer him a drink and he politely refuses. He knows he’s being irresponsible, but he doesn’t want to be that irresponsible.

Minseok slings his arm over his shoulders and takes a long sip from his cup. “You’re doing good, Baek. The first party I went to I spent an hour in the bathroom puking and crying.”

“I don’t want to do either of those things.”

Minseok giggles and presses their cheeks together. It’s weird, Baekhyun thinks, but very warm and comforting in such a hectic environment. His nose scrunches when an unknown scent hits him; he thinks it may be coming from Minseok, but he can’t be sure.

“I have to pee,” Baekhyun says, face still pressed close to Minseok’s.

Minseok leans away and closes his eyes. “The bathroom is down the hall,” he points in a vague direction, “first door on the left.” His eyes open and he reaches up to squish Baekhyun’s cheeks. “Do you want me to take you?”

Baekhyun shakes his head. His eyes go comically wide when Minseok’s fingers graze the base of his tail. “No, I got it,” he squeaks out. “Thanks.”

The bathroom is the first door on the right, he finds out, when he accidentally walks in on two people having sex in a bedroom.

His reflection in the mirror looks odd. It’s him, but he looks different somehow. He stares into this doppelganger’s eyes and can feel the vodka in his veins. He doesn’t like it much; it feels like things are in slow motion, or like he’s underwater. Going home and sleeping in his bed sounds so wonderful right now. It would be so cozy and warm and safe.

Someone knocks on the door and he jumps. He never even went pee. So, he goes quickly and gives his hands a quick rinse in the sink, then exits the bathroom, almost being shoved out of the way by the girl waiting outside of the door.

Back in the living room, he doesn’t see Minseok and Sehun. He thinks maybe they went to go get more to drink, so he wanders over to the kitchen where the counter full of various liquor bottles and red cups are. They aren’t there.

He checks the basement, where he’s heard a pool table is. They aren’t there either. He begins to freak out a little bit. He’s stranded alone at a party where he doesn’t know anyone.

There’s not a single person at this party he knows enough to ask for help, so he wanders around aimlessly, hoping to run into either Sehun or Minseok at some point. After no success, he decides to go sit in the bathroom until the alcohol wears off so he can think straight again. But, the door is locked, so he just stands in the hallway like a sad, lost kitten.

He suddenly remembers he has a phone, and realizes he’s not as hopeless as he previously thought.

Staring at his phone screen is a little weird in this dark hallway. The apps on the screen all blend together, so it takes a few tries to tap on his messages. Finally, he gets it right, and he taps on his and Minseok’s thread.

An hand lands on his shoulder and he yelps in fright.

“Where did you go?”

Baekhyun is relieved to see Minseok’s happy face. “I told you I was going to the bathroom.” He chuckles at the little pout Minseok gives him; it’s so cute.

“You were gone for so long. I thought we lost you!” Minseok wraps his arms around Baekhyun and nuzzles into his neck.

“I’ve been looking for you guys everywhere. You disappeared.”

Minseok chuckles close to Baekhyun’s ear. “We were looking for you, kitten.”

He takes Baekhyun’s hand, slipping their fingers together easily as he pulls him down the quiet hallway. They stop in front of a closed door. Minseok gives him a small smile and then enters the room, taking Baekhyun with him.

Sehun is standing at the center of the bedroom, eyes narrow, lips tight; it’s his usual serious face. But there’s something there, Baekhyun can’t explain it; that same scent from earlier swirls in the room.

Minseok releases Baekhyun and moves to his brother’s side, standing close, arms locked as usual. His entire front is pressed tight to Sehun’s side.

Minseok’s nose drags a slow path up the expanse of Sehun’s neck, and Baekhyun understands now why he’s been brought to this room. His face must give away his thoughts, because Minseok answers his question before it’s asked.

“We’re not really related, Baek, we’re not doing anything wrong.”

“You’re still…brothers.”

“Stepbrothers,” Sehun corrects, voice low enough to send a shiver down Baekhyun’s spine.

“Why did you bring me in here?” he asks; he already knows, but he wants to hear it said aloud.

Minseok takes a deep breath and begins rubbing his cheek into Sehun’s shoulder. He looks out of it, like he’s been drugged. Or—

“You’re in heat,” Baekhyun realizes. “That’s why you smell different now.”

“Yeah,” Sehun agrees, “he smells wonderful when he’s in heat.”

Baekhyun steps back until he hits a wall. “I think I should go,” he nearly whispers. He wishes he had the courage to stay; this situation is undeniably tempting.

“Baek, no. Stay,” Minseok pouts, and Baekhyun almost gives in.

“I’ll see you guys later.”

He turns to the door and grabs the handle, but he freezes. His eyes dart side to side as he thinks. He’s had dreams about a moment similar to this happening, vivid dreams. And now, it’s a reality.

Why is he leaving?

What the hell is he doing?!

He drops his hand from the doorknob and turns around, chewing nervously at his lip.

“Curiosity is our most prominent trait,” Sehun says with a smirk so devious Baekhyun gulps. He raises his right hand to cradle Minseok’s cheek resting on his left shoulder, and then he turns and kisses him.

Baekhyun’s jaw drops in a soft, stuttered gasp. This is really happening.

They look good together, that much is painfully obvious. Their lips and tongues move in a practiced motion, something that only comes with much experience. Baekhyun briefly wonders how much they’re willing to let him see.

A sudden moan breaks Baekhyun from his thoughts and he refocuses his attention.

Sehun rubs Minseok over his jeans, whispering filthy things into his ear. It’s intriguing to Baekhyun, how much of an effect words seem to have on Minseok. He’s no better; Sehun isn’t even touching him, but he’s squirming with arousal just at the sight.

When Sehun begins walking Minseok backward, all the way until his legs hit the bed against the wall, Baekhyun takes a few unsure steps toward them.

He knows he doesn’t have it in him to participate, but observing seems harmless enough.

Minseok is laid back on the bed. His head tips back in the most graceful of ways; he looks angelic laid out like that, with his lips parted and neck exposed.

Sehun steps up between Minseok’s legs and unbuttons his jeans. He slides the zipper down but doesn’t take the pants off. Instead, he pushes Minseok’s shirt up so he can tease his soft skin with gentle fingers.

Baekhyun breathes out a soft moan, imagining how good that must feel. Sehun’s ear flicks toward him quickly; Baekhyun knows he heard him, but he can’t bother himself to care.

Minseok raises his hips and, with a few rough tugs, his jeans are pulled down to his knees. Baekhyun holds his breath; he can see Minseok’s hard cock pressing against his underwear.

“You can come closer,” Sehun says without turning away from his brother.

“I’m fine here,” Baekhyun says, unsure if he’d even spoken loud enough to be heard. All he can hear is his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

“Suit yourself,” Sehun says with a shrug, and then he’s pulling Minseok’s underwear down and wrapping his lips around his cock.

Baekhyun’s breath catches and he panics, throwing himself back against the door behind him. His hand holds the doorknob in a death grip, arm trembling from the strain.

“I shouldn’t be here,” he whispers. “I shouldn’t be here.”

The last thing he sees before he leaves the room is Sehun’s tail flicking happily in the air. The image haunts him every step he takes down the hallway, through the living room, and out the side door of the house. Perhaphs he should have stayed; he could have joined them. He should have. He fears he'll regret this for the rest of his life.

Standing on the sidewalk in front of the house, Baekhyun realizes two things: he could have just had sex with the two most gorgeous boys he’s ever met, and he has no way of getting home now. His mother would kill him if she pulled up in front of a raging house party instead of Sehun and Minseok’s quiet home.

Eventually, with no other options, he settles on calling Chanyeol.

When he slides into Chanyeol’s front seat, he apologizes to him profusely. It’s late and this house is miles away from their home, and he’s in a weird mood after what he’d just witnessed. He’s naturally worried, and also grateful Chanyeol doesn’t mention the obvious stink of vodka Baekhyun carried with him into the car.

Of course Chanyeol notices how off Baekhyun is acting. It may be teen hormones, but he did just call him for a ride home from a party that looked wild even from outside the house.

“Everything okay, Baek?”

There’s a long moment of silence. Baekhyun stares at his lap with a frown, trying to figure out exactly how to word what he’s going to say.

“Chanyeol…um, you’ve like…had sex before right?”

“Are you drunk right now? Did they get you drunk? Is that what’s happening?”

That response makes Baekhyun insecure. He puts his head down again and pouts. “I’m being serious,” he mumbles.

“Okay. Um, yes I have. Why?”

“Have you ever like…watched other people do it?”

“Like porn?” Chanyeol asks, giving Baekhyun a quick glance as he makes a right turn.

“No, I mean like in real life.”

Chanyeol frowns. “Baek, what happened at that party?”

“Nothing!” he says suspiciously quick. “I mean, I didn’t do anything. It was— I was just there.”

Chanyeol stops at a red light and gawks at Baekhyun. “You—” He closes his eyes and sighs through his nose. “You watched people have sex?”

Baekhyun can’t look up; he just shrugs.

“Did they…know you were there?”

Baekhyun nods.

“Okay, well, it could be worse.”

“It was Sehun and Minseok.” His voice is small, childlike; he’s so ashamed of himself. “He— They wanted me to…join them. But I got scared.” He looks up at Chanyeol now, teetering the line of crying. “I just stood there and watched. I couldn’t look away.”

Chanyeol’s mouth opens and closes multiple time. “Well um,” he makes a face and hums in thought. “I honestly have nothing helpful to say right now. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Baekhyun shrugs, “I just wanted to know if I should feel bad for staying in the room so long.” He’s admiring Chanyeol’s pretty side profile under the flashes of streetlight. “Does it make me weird because I liked it?”

“No?” He peeks at Baekhyun who looks devastated by the tone of his voice. “No, Baekhyun, no. It doesn’t make you weird. You’re attracted to them and sex is like, a normal thing. It’s not weird that you liked watching that.”

He can’t tell if Chanyeol is only saying that to make him feel better, but it works. Some of the shameful weight is lifted off his chest by Chanyeol’s reassurance. He sits back in his chair and presses his head into the headrest.

“Minseok looks really good naked,” he says, tone more cheerful now. “I didn’t get to see Sehun though. I ran away before he took any clothes off.”

Chanyeol clears his throat and tightens his grip on the wheel. They’re almost to his house now, just a few blocks away.

“Have you ever sucked a dick before?”

Chanyeol whips his head around so fast the car swerves a bit. His eyes are wide and round, and slightly terrified.

“Was it Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun asks with a giggle. “It’s small; I’ve seen him naked before.”

“Let’s not talk anymore, okay?”

Baekhyun smiles and nods. He remains silent for the rest of the drive.


	9. Chapter 9

With the image permanent and vivid in Baekhyun’s mind, he uses the sight of Sehun sucking Minseok off as fuel for his late night masturbating sessions, which seem to be happening more and more frequently as his fifteenth birthday approaches, and eventually passes.

It’s reminiscent of when he first hit puberty, and is slowly becoming a secret concern of his. More than once, he’s had to decline Chanyeol’s invitation to come over because just the thought of being that surrounded by his scent makes him sweat.

But today, he’s sitting on Chanyeol’s couch watching some stupid Netflix movie that’s actually pretty funny. He’s trying his best to push the thought of what he’d seen that night to the back of his mind, while also trying to not be affected by how wonderful Chanyeol smells.

He gets a whiff of Chanyeol when he walks by him to get to the kitchen and his eyes roll back, entranced with the sweet scent. His head turns to follow Chanyeol and he stands quickly, instincts telling him to go after him.

“What are you doing?” Chanyeol asks as he returns to the room, curious as to why Baekhyun is standing in front of the couch with his eyes closed.

Baekhyun opens his eyes and almost falls over; Chanyeol is leaning in close, crouching slightly so that their eyes are even. “I’m just…” he gulps, “going to the bathroom.”

He rushes out of the room, down the hall, and slams the bathroom door behind him. Looking down at his pants, he glares. “Not right now, come on.” He pleads with his reflection in the mirror, “Not in Chanyeol’s house, please.”

His dick throbs and he groans, hunching himself over the sink with both hands gripping the vanity. “Come on, Baekhyun,” he whispers, “pull yourself together.” He looks into his own eyes, breathing heavily, trying to calm himself. “I am not going to masturbate in Chanyeol’s bathroom.”

Or maybe, he is going to masturbate in Chanyeol’s bathroom. It’s not even a conscious decision; his hand moves on its own, unbuttoning his jeans and tugging them down to his thighs. He’s watching himself in the mirror in horror, wanting to stop, but he can’t. He needs it.

His hand gets half a grip on the waistband of his underwear when a sudden knock at the door scares him so thoroughly he jumps and knocks a few things off of the counter. He hurries to redo his jeans and runs frantic fingers through his hair. To make things seem as normal as possible, he flushes the toilet and then runs his hands through water from the sink.

“Hey, you good in there?” Chanyeol asks, giving Baekhyun a weird look when he opens the door.

“Oh, yeah,” he laughs, nervous and rigid, “just knocked your toothbrush cup off the sink when I went to wash my hands.”

“Your mom called while you were in there, then she called me when you didn’t answer. She said Minseok is at your house.”

Baekhyun nods, still slightly in shock, and a little aroused if he’s being honest. “Oh, okay. Yeah, I should get home then.”

Chanyeol watches Baekhyun as he slips his shoes on, turning around a few times in place as he pats his pockets. He finally spots his phone on the table and grabs it.

“Are you still avoiding them?” Chanyeol asks. “Since, you know…that night?”

“What?”

“Well, I just assumed Minseok would like text you or something before coming over.”

Baekhyun nods again. “Right. Right, yeah. No, I haven’t really been avoiding them, just kinda…screening Minseok’s calls?”

Chanyeol squints. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“What? Yeah, why?”

“You seem a little jumpy is all,” Chanyeol shrugs.

Baekhyun thinks for a second; should he tell Chanyeol the truth? He could just make something up, forgotten homework, an upcoming test. He's not a liar and he knows it.

“I think I’m in heat,” he blurts out before he can engage his brain-to-mouth filter. “Your scent is driving me crazy.” He can feel the mortification burning in his cheeks. “I have to go.”

Locking himself in his room and hating himself is all he wants to do right now, but Minseok is sitting on the couch with his mother, sipping from a teacup. He could scream; he doesn’t want to deal with this right now. And, god, has Minseok always smelled this good?

He tells Minseok to come to his room with him; he’s sure this isn’t going to be a conversation his mother would enjoy overhearing.

The door shuts and Baekhyun turns around to see Minseok still leaning against it, smiling at him. He’s scared of the look in his eyes, and terrified of the vulgar thoughts racing through his head. Minseok’s tail flicks sporadically for a second and his nostrils flare. Oh god, Baekhyun thinks, he can smell me.

“Interesting scent you have going on tonight.” His tone is teasing, and so is his smirk. It causes something to stir within Baekhyun and he has to press his fangs into his bottom lip to keep his mouth from asking Minseok to fuck him.

Minseok straightens up and puts a serious look on his face. “You’ve been ignoring my calls. Is it because of what happened at the party?”

Baekhyun doesn’t speak. He’s worried his mouth will betray him if he opens it.

“I’m really sorry about that, Baek, honestly.” He takes a couple steps, noticing how Baekhyun takes an equal amount of steps backward. “I— it’s not an excuse, but I get really bad when I’m in heat. It messes with Sehun, too.” He takes another step, Baekhyun does as well. Minseok frowns and moves closer, so that Baekhyun backs into his desk and can’t retreat any further. “We shouldn’t have done that to you. You’re still young and we weren’t thinking clearly.”

Baekhyun nods quickly. He has his eyes closed now, his thighs pressing tight against his desk. If Minseok comes any closer he might die; he smells almost as enticing as Chanyeol. It’s suffocating.

“So…are we okay?” Minseok asks with a concerned frown.

“God, yes,” Baekhyun cries out, unable to contain himself any longer. “Please just go. Please, before I try to have sex with you.” He scrubs at his scalp and pulls his hair; he’s going to lose his mind. “I don’t want my first time to be because I’m in heat.”

Minseok moves so close Baekhyun holds his breath. He leans in closer and takes Baekhyun’s face between his hands.

“Oh, Baek, no. Kitten, no. I wouldn’t take that away from you, oh my god. Now I feel extra awful for trying to drag you into mine and Sehun’s mess at the party.” He can see how distraught Baekhyun is; he’s nearly crying, so he wraps him in a tight hug. “I just assumed you’d already done it. I’m so sorry. Most cats can’t control it when they’re in heat, so I just thought—”

“This is my first heat,” Baekhyun interrupts, then whimpers. He buries his face in Minseok’s shoulder and starts crying, overwhelmed with a variety of emotions he doesn’t know how to handle all at once.

Minseok doesn’t move, just lets Baekhyun cry himself out on his shoulder. When Baekhyun finally sniffles for the last time, Minseok pushes at his shoulders and gives him a small smile. “The first one is always the worst. It’ll get better though, I promise.”

“Really?” Baekhyun wipes at his wet cheeks with the back of his hand.

“Well…no, not really. But, you get better at dealing with it. It’s easier to control yourself when you know what to expect.” Minseok smiles and waits for Baekhyun to smile back at him before continuing. “When I had my first heat I backed Sehun into a corner one day when our parents weren’t home and begged him to fuck me. I was eleven and it was really embarrassing and scary.”

“Can I say something really embarrassing?” Minseok nods. “And, you promise not to tell anyone?” Another nod. “I was at Chanyeol’s when you got here. I locked myself in the bathroom because— Well, he just smelled so good…I couldn’t help it. I-I was gonna touch myself, but then my mom called.”

Minseok grins and pinches at Baekhyun’s cheek. “You little sexual deviant!”

“Don’t!” Baekhyun whines, “I’m already embarrassed enough about this. Don’t make fun of me.”

Minseok mimics Baekhyun’s pout. “Oh kitten, I’m not making fun of you.” He gives Baekhyun’s hair a quick ruffle and chuckles. “Let me take you to go get some coffee, you look like you could use it.”

Baekhyun nods and takes a second to make sure he doesn’t look like he’s been crying before having to go face his mother.

Minseok stops in the hallway with narrow eyes. “I have to ask, is it only Chanyeol’s scent that affects you like this?”

“I think so?” Baekhyun says. “You smell really good too right now, but not like how Chanyeol does.”

Minseok nods, “Interesting.” He doesn’t bother to explain, but just continues down the hall.

“Why is it interesting.”

Minseok hums, and grins suspiciously. “No reason. It's just interesting.”

The beginning of June brings a great deal of sadness to Baekhyun. He tried not to think about it; he did everything he could to push the thought to the back of his mind for weeks, but he can’t ignore it any longer.

Today is Minseok and Sehun’s last day of school.

They’re eating lunch at the tables outside today, because it’s warm and sunny, and they never do. So why not do it today?

He doesn’t want to pout during their last 30 minute lunch together, but he can’t help it. He’s going to miss them terribly. School isn’t going to be as fun without them constantly dragging him through the halls, drawing attention to themselves.

“You guys are my only friends,” he whines into his carton of milk. “I can’t believe you’re just gonna graduate and leave me like this.”

Sehun rolls his eyes, but he smiles; he may have a tough exterior, but he has a soft spot for the little kitten, and Baekhyun knows it. Minseok coos at Baekhyun’s sappy admission and leans his head on his shoulder.

“We’re gonna miss you too, Baek.”

“I won’t,” Sehun says flatly, but everyone knows he’s lying. “And, we’re not your only friends. I’ve seen you at your locker chatting with that pretty, tall boy.”

“Jongin,” Minseok says with excitement. “You really have a thing for the tall older boys, huh Baek?”

“No!” Baekhyun glares. “I’m just short, so everyone seems tall in comparison.” He places his empty milk on his tray and pushes it away from him. “And, I don’t have a thing for him. We’re just friends.”

“Well, he totally has a thing for you,” Sehun says, looking down at his phone.

“Sehun’s tall and 18. Chanyeol’s tall and like, 30. Jongin’s tall and 17.” Minseok counts the boys off on his fingers. “I’m seeing a pattern here.”

“Chanyeol isn’t 30.” Baekhyun snatches his tray off the table and storms off to the trash can to dump it. He returns to the table with an angry frown. “Can we not just have a nice last lunch together?”

“I’m having a nice time,” Sehun says with a casual shrug. “Are you having a nice time, Minseok?”

“I’m having a wonderful time, thank you.” Minseok turns to Baekhyun with an evil smirk. “Jongin always looks like he’s having a nice time when he’s crowding you at your locker every day too.”

“He does not,” Baekhyun argues. “He stands at the locker next to mine and talks to me.”

“No,” Sehun interrupts, “he stands with his arm up over your head to close you in. Typical flirting move; I do it all the time.” He grins proudly. “Works every time, too.”

Baekhyun sneers. “Maybe that’s just how he stands. He’s not flirting with me, you guys.”

Minseok and Sehun share a look that annoys Baekhyun. Just then he hears a pair of heels clicking on the concrete and his ears turn toward the sound as it nears. He looks left and sees a pretty girl walking toward them. Her clothes seem expensive, or maybe it’s just the aura she puts out, and a pair of sunglasses cover most of her face.

The girl stops at the edge of their table and tosses her long, dark hair over her shoulder. When she pulls her sunglasses down, her narrowed eyes are fixed on Sehun. She purses her thick, red painted lips.

“Hello, bastard.”

Sehun smirks and turns to completely face her. “Hyejin, looking lovely as always.” He blinks innocently up at her, “Are you stalking me now?”

Baekhyun knows he’s seen this girl before, but can’t place where. He pulls his phone out and opens Instagram, going straight to Sehun’s account. That’s where he knows this girl from. Sehun’s last post is of him in a purple-tinted, dim room, pressing his lips to the neck of a girl who is only visible from the lips down. Those lips are unmistakably the girl’s standing beside him.

He looks at Minseok who simply shrugs and continues eating.

“I knew where to find you is all. I have better things to do with my time than follow a high school boy around, thank you.” She pushes her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose and holds her hand out, wiggling her fingers in Sehun’s face. “Give me your phone.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Just give me the damn phone…unlocked,” she adds.

Sehun scoffs, but listens. He unlocks his phone and slides it across the table toward her.

Hyejin snatches it up and begins tapping at the screen. Whatever she does only takes a few seconds, then she carelessly tosses the phone back to Sehun. Without a word, she turns and walks away.

“What did you do?” Sehun asks.

Hyejin stops and looks back over her shoulder. “Deleted Wheein’s number, bastard.”

They all watch her walk away in silence until she disappears into the sea of cars in the parking lot. No one is saying anything, and Baekhyun is terribly curious.

“Why was she so mad at you?” he asks.

Sehun rolls his eyes and Minseok chuckles.

“We’ve been fucking every so often for a few weeks now. And then, I don’t know why, she got mad when I asked her hot ass sister for her number.”

Minseok laughs, “You’re such a pig, I swear.”

“Wheein is her sister?”

“Yeah,” Sehun says like it’s obvious, “and she’s hot. Why wouldn’t I ask for her number?”

“Because you like Hyejin and she likes you, moron,” Minseok says.

“And that means I just stop sleeping with other people?” Sehun looks between the other two as if he’s looking for reassurance that what he said isn’t completely stupid. Getting no response, he sighs. “Whatever, so I’m an asshole. Big deal.”

“I have no idea how you get college girls to sleep with you when you act like that.”

Sehun sneers at his brother and uses both hands to point at his lap. “I have a big dick, that’s how. You should know.”

Baekhyun chokes on his spit and Minseok has to pat him on the back a few times. That’s information he’s always wanted to know, but wasn’t prepared to hear at this exact moment. He wishes his face wasn’t bright red, because Sehun is staring right at him in amusement.

“Sorry, Baek,” Sehun says with blatant insincerity.

“It’s okay,” he squeaks out in an embarrassingly high voice.

The bell rings and they all stand; Baekhyun’s sadness returns.

“Well, that was an eventful last lunch,” Minseok comments as he wraps his arm around Baekhyun’s waist. He shakes Baekhyun side to side. “Cheer up kitten, it’s gonna be alright.”


	10. Chapter 10

Finals week has Baekhyun unbearably stressed out. He’s passing all of his classes with good grades, and he’s always done well in school, but that’s because of how much he studies. He’s barely left his room other than to go to school since Monday.

Now it’s Thursday, his last day of exams, and he’s just ready to get to school and get it over with. He’s sick of shutting himself in to study and is desperate to go hang out with Chanyeol and lose at some more videogames.

Luckily, the day passes with ease and the final bell rings, setting him free for the summer.

He moves slowly down the hall to his locker so he can gather his things that have accumulated inside throughout the year. The other kids rush excitedly around him, talking of summer plans and meeting up at various locations once they leave the building. He sighs, admittedly a little jealous. He wishes Sehun and Minseok hadn’t graduated and left him all alone.

“Hey.”

Baekhyun jumps and drops his backpack at his feet. He looks up and smiles. “Jongin. You scared me.”

Jongin picks up the backpack for Baekhyun and hands it over with a smile. “Sorry. Just wanted to come ask if you wanna go out to eat with me.”

“Aren’t you going with other friends or something?”

“This may come as a surprise to you, because I’m so cool,” Jongin says as he runs a hand casually through his hair, “but I don’t really have any other friends.” He chuckles at Baekhyun’s shocked reaction. “You’re pretty much stuck with me.”

He does the thing, leans against the locker with his arm up to where if he slid it down it would fall on Baekhyun’s shoulder. He thinks back to Sehun’s smug smile and shakes the thought from his head.

Baekhyun’s phone beeps. It’s a text from Chanyeol asking him to come hang out because it’s his day off and he’s dying of boredom.

“I wish I could,” Baekhyun says, and he almost means it, “but I have plans already.”

Jongin’s face falls slightly, but he hurries to give Baekhyun a wide grin. “No worries, maybe another time.”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun agrees, “we have all summer.” He tells Jongin goodbye and promises to text him later. Jongin gives him a quick hug, which surprises Baekhyun, but it’s pleasant and warm, so Baekhyun exits the school with a small smile.

His mother drops him off in the driveway and tells him to be good while she’s at work, and that he can eat dinner with Chanyeol if he offers, because she won’t be home until late. He reminds her that he has Minseok and Sehun’s graduation party to go to later and she swears under her breath.

“Do you think Chanyeol would mind taking you? I have a late session tonight and won’t be home in time. I’m sorry, sweetie.”

He assures his mother that he’ll ask, and that Chanyeol likely won’t mind, and waves her off as she begins reversing.

He gets halfway up his walkway when his eyes scan right toward Chanyeol’s house. He can see into the large bay window; Chanyeol appears to be doing some sort of stretching without a shirt on. Baekhyun promptly trips over his own feet and hits the ground hard, but he quickly hops up and dusts himself off, happy his mother already drove away and Chanyeol didn’t notice.

He makes it to his room incident free and shuffles through the shirts hanging in his closet. After falling outside he needs to change into something not covered in sidewalk dirt. He shimmies into a pair of jeans and tucks his backpack into its new home for the next three months, then makes his way to Chanyeol’s.

A pizza delivery girl is standing on the porch when he walks up and the smell coming from the boxes makes his stomach growl. Chicken and bacon, his favorite.

Baekhyun opens Chanyeol’s door and almost closes it again when Chanyeol turns toward him from across the room, still not wearing a shirt. Both he and the pizza girl check Chanyeol out as he walks closer, stopping halfway to grab his discarded shirt to slip it back on.

“You freaked me out, Baek. I thought the pizza girl was just walking into my house.” He pulls money from his wallet and trades it for the boxes of pizza.

“I prefer to knock rather than just walk in unannounced to a customer’s house,” she says, making the same disappointed face as Baekhyun; they both wish he’d kept the shirt off. She smiles and thanks Chanyeol, then goes back to her car.

“She was checking you out,” Baekhyun chuckles as he enters the house.

“So were you,” Chanyeol teases as he closes the door.

Baekhyun stops walking but doesn’t turn around. “I…was not,” he argues, but they both know it’s a lie.

They’re both standing at the kitchen counter staring at the two open boxes. Chanyeol ordered from their favorite pizza place; it looks delicious as usual. They don’t grab plates or even sit down, just stand over the pizzas eating slice after slice like a couple untrained animals. Chanyeol goes to the fridge and returns to the counter with a beer in his hand. He twists the cap off and takes a long drink. Baekhyun tips his head.

“I thought you’re not old enough to drink?”

“I’m not,” Chanyeol laughs, “unless I go to the right store.” He smiles at Baekhyun’s confusion. “The cashier has a crush on me and doesn’t check my ID. It’s bad for the business, but it’s good for me.”

“You’re a bad influence,” Baekhyun jokes.

Chanyeol sputters out a laugh. “So, your cat friends can try to drag you into a threesome, and that’s okay. But, I buy some beer and it makes me a bad influence?” He shakes his head, “The double standards in your mind are backwards.”

For the next five hours they don’t move from the couch, switching between different games and episodes of some show on Netflix. A text from Minseok reminds him that he forgot to ask Chanyeol for a ride to the party later. He checks the time and panics a little, realizing that the party is in less than an hour.

“Hey, Yeol?” Chanyeol turns his head slowly, eyes still facing the television; he hums an acknowledgement. “Is there any way could you maybe take me to Minseok and Sehun’s grad party? My mom was gonna, but she has to work late.”

Chanyeol shrugs, “Yeah, I don’t care. When?”

“Like an hour?” Chanyeol agrees again and Baekhyun decides to go home and change. He’s not sure why, but he feels the need to look nice.

He meets Chanyeol at his car a little while later in a new outfit and Chanyeol smiles at him.

“What?” Baekhyun asks as he gets in the car.

“Nothing,” Chanyeol says with a shake of his head. “Did you do your hair?”

Baekhyun understands that Chanyeol is teasing him, so he crosses his arms and frowns. “Maybe,” he murmurs. “I just wanted to look good.”

“For Sehun?” Chanyeol asks with a raise of his eyebrows. He’s looking at Baekhyun, wanting to enjoy his facial expression.

“Just watch the road,” Baekhyun grumbles, then turns his body to face the window.

Chanyeol’s face is the same as Baekhyun’s was the first time he’d seen Minseok and Sehun’s house: absolute shock and mild jealousy.

“Holy shit, you didn’t tell me they live in a mansion.” Chanyeol looks over to Baekhyun, jaw still dropped. “All the times they’ve come over and I’ve paid for the food when they’ve been rich this whole time.”

“They aren’t, their parents are. Mom’s a lawyer and dad’s a surgeon.”

“What a power couple,” Chanyeol says, eyes now back on the giant, elegant house. “Are they, you know?” He raises his index fingers and places them at the back of his head.

Baekhyun squints, unsure if he’s confused or offended. “Are you— Is that supposed to be cat ears?”

Chanyeol sheepishly lowers his hands, but nods. “Yeah, sorry.”

“Minseok’s mom is,” Baekhyun says as he unbuckles and gets out of the car. He shuts the door and turns to lean his head into the open window. “Sehun’s dad is human.”

“Is Sehun’s mom a, you know, hybrid?”

“Never met her. Do you want to come in and ask them yourself?” Chanyeol shakes his head. “Okay then, can I go in now?” Chanyeol nods. “Thanks for the ride.”

The inside of the house is professionally decorated, not with balloons and streamers like a typical graduation party, but with bouquets of flowers and wreaths, and studio quality photographs of Minseok and Sehun in various outfits and poses. He’s impressed and a little jealous of the planning that went into this. His mother could never.

There’s a table piled high with gifts, likely various furnishings for their future luxury campus apartments. Another smaller table has a four tier cake beautifully decorated in their school colors. It smells delicious, even from across the room; he can’t wait to eat some later.

Baekhyun doesn’t like being in large social situations, especially alone like he is at the moment. So, he begins wandering in search of Sehun and Minseok. He knows his way through the house, all the rooms that are off limits, the parent’s bedroom, Sehun and Minseok’s separate rooms.

He checks the kitchen and is happily greeted with a hug by their mother wielding a large chef’s knife; she doesn’t know where her sons are. Their father is in the dining room sitting around the large table with other fatherly looking men, conversing about politics or sports, whatever grown men talk about. He gives Baekhyun one of those half-hearted, acknowledging nods and continues his conversation.

His journey continues on to the large sitting room, as he calls it, because there’s nothing inside but a few couches and chairs surrounding a table likely more expensive than his mother’s car. He stares at the empty room; what do they use it for? He shakes his head, rich people.

Minseok’s voice hits his ear suddenly and he snaps his head left in the direction the sound is coming from; it’s distant, but he can follow it. He twists and turns through the house, backtracking his steps mostly. Back through the dining room, then the kitchen, out the sliding door to the backyard.

Sehun sees him first, then Minseok, and they wave him over. He sees a variety of people, some with fuzzy ears, some without. He hasn’t seen this many hybrids together since he was in the shelter.

When he steps into the small circle they’re standing in, he spots Hyejin molded to Sehun’s side, his arm around her, hand resting on her hip. She looks even more expensive than the last time he’d seen her, but with a smile on her face now she doesn’t seem so intimidating. They must have made up; he’ll have to ask later.

Minseok grips him up suddenly and pulls him away from the group. He rolls his eyes and hugs Baekhyun. “God, am I glad to see you. My family is the worst.” They walk a little further from eavesdropping ears. “If one more person asks me if I have a girlfriend I swear I’m gonna devolve and claw them.”

“Yikes,” Baekhyun chuckles. “Are they really that bad?”

Minseok just blinks. “Twenty minutes ago my aunt kissed me on the mouth. Like…right on the lips. Who does that?”

“I used to kiss Kyungsoo on the mouth when I was little,” Baekhyun shrugs. “But I was like six years old and not an adult woman.”

“First of all, hot. Second, I’m gonna need alcohol to survive this day.”

Before Baekhyun can even formulate a protest, he’s dragged into the house and past all the adults who pay them no attention. They move through the house, down the stairs to the basement where a few younger people are sitting on couches, and step into the wine cellar. Rich people.

Minseok runs his fingers over the bottles, as if pondering which to choose. He shrugs and snatches one off the rack at random, then takes it to a drawer that conveniently holds a corkscrew.

“Grab glasses,” he says as he violently twists the metal into the cork.

“Glasses?” Baekhyun says, “Plural?”

“Oh yeah,” Minseok says, looking up at Baekhyun, “We’re in this together my friend.”

Baekhyun chuckles, “You’re an alcoholic, I swear.” He grabs two glasses hanging upside down from a rack on the ceiling and places them carefully on the table.

“Yeah well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

“What?” Baekhyun asks, curious as to how that statement makes sense.

Minseok grins as he pours what Baekhyun thinks is too much in each glass.

He takes the offered glass and smells its contents; it’s like a sad, stepped on grape. Minseok clinks their glasses together and raises his eyebrows before chugging. Baekhyun is impressed.

The wine tastes worse than it smells, which is counterproductive, because he wants to drink quickly to get it over with. He has to take small sips, and each one dries his mouth out like cranberry juice, but without the tolerable flavor.

They stay in the chilly cellar until the bottle is finished, and Baekhyun is feeling goooood as hell. His head is bobbing to a funky beat he doesn’t hear, but he can feel it in his drunk, drunk body. He’s unsure of what emotion his eyebrows are expressing; it feels like confidence and Minseok is chuckling at him.

“I feel like dancing. Or running. Oh, we should have that threesome now.”

Minseok looks impressed. “Drunk Baekhyun is now my new favorite Baekhyun.” He pats Baekhyun’s head between his ears and smiles. “Let’s keep our pants on though, yeah?”

Baekhyun simply shrugs and follows Minseok out of the room and up the stairs. He watches Minseok’s ass go up every step with his head tipped down, fighting the urge his body is giving him to just lean forward and bite it.

The sound of multiple voices knocks reality back into Baekhyun and he freezes mid-step. Minseok turns around in confusion.

“Oh, I don’t think I can go be in front of people right now.”

“Nonsense.” Minseok takes Baekhyun by the arm and drags him up the rest of the stairs. “You’ll be fine, just act normal.” He side-eyes Baekhyun with a sly grin. “Are you squeezing my ass right now?”

Baekhyun slowly pulls his hand out of Minseok’s back pocket and giggles.

“This is gonna be fun.”

This, much to Minseok’s bewilderment, is not fun.

As time passes and blood circulates, Baekhyun gets more drunk, surpassing fun wine drunk and going straight to emotional crybaby wine drunk. One minute he’s smiling, pretending he’s following along with the conversation between Sehun, Minseok, and their cousins. The next minute, someone asks when they’re moving to their new apartments and Sehun says ‘tomorrow’ and then Baekhyun is stumbling toward the poolside chairs.

He didn’t know they were leaving so soon. He thought he had at least another few weeks to spend with them before they go off to college. A wave of drunken sadness washes over him and brings tears with it.

To his surprise, Sehun sits at his feet and places a hand on his shin. Baekhyun looks up and wipes at his face, embarrassed that Sehun is just sitting there watching him cry.

“Come with me,” Sehun says, nodding his head toward the house.

Baekhyun doesn’t ask, just follows quietly behind Sehun.

He’s taken to a secluded room in an area of the house he’s never been to. It appears to be some kind of library or an office; there’s a desk in the center of the room and a couch by the wall under a large window overlooking the backyard. The only light is coming from the moon outside and a small lamp on the desk.

Sehun is standing at the center of the room when Baekhyun turns around. He doesn’t know what’s going on, why Sehun brought him here. But, Sehun is smiling at him and his alcohol influenced mind can only make him smile in return.

“Why were you crying?” Sehun asks softly.

Baekhyun isn’t sure how to answer that question. He doesn’t even remember that he’d been crying before Sehun asked. Why was he crying? He stares at Sehun’s perfect face in the soft lighting, head tilted, trying to think of what he was trying to remember. It’s so easy to be distracted by Sehun’s looks: his sharp eyebrows, fierce eyes, the permanent scowl that’s somehow so incredibly attractive.

When Baekhyun doesn’t answer, Sehun moves closer. He takes a gentle grasp of Baekhyun’s hand and leans down to look into his eyes. His thumb plays with the knuckles of Baekhyun’s fingers, dragging slowly back and forth, making Baekhyun shiver.

“Look at me,” Sehun says.

Baekhyun can only peek up at Sehun through his lashes, currently too nervous to give him full eye contact. Sehun is much closer than he imagined and the proximity takes his breath away.

“Don’t cry anymore pretty cat,” Sehun whispers with his lips pressed to Baekhyun’s ear. He smiles against Baekhyun’s skin and moves his head slowly, pausing for a moment to give Baekhyun the opportunity to protest.

Their lips touch and Baekhyun’s entire body feels on fire. Sehun’s palm cups his cheek and his head tilts just before he slips his tongue into Baekhyun’s mouth. He gasps when Sehun’s free hand slides down the length of his waist to rest on his hip, and then pulls him close. 

Baekhyun doesn’t know if he’s even kissing right, or if it’s enjoyable for Sehun, but it’s a dream come true for him. Sehun’s lips are soft and the fingers digging into his hip are firm. He mewls into Sehun’s mouth and then Sehun digs his fangs into Baekhyun’s lip, tugging at it before giving him a few final open-mouthed kisses.

He’s in a daze when he finally opens his eyes to see where Sehun went. He wants to ask why the kiss stopped, and why it even happened in the first place. Not that he’s complaining, of course, because that was amazing regardless of the reason behind it.

“S-Sehun what was—”

Sehun presses a finger to Baekhyun’s lips and shushes him. “Just consider it a going away present.”

Baekhyun’s eyes are closed, fighting the urge to suck Sehun’s finger into his mouth. His brain catches up with the situation and he opens his eyes halfway. “I’m not going anywhere, though. Shouldn’t I give you a present?”

Sehun smirks and lifts Baekhyun’s chin up with his fingertips. “I don’t sleep with drunk kittens.”

“I-I…no, I didn’t mean— I don’t wanna do that with you.”

Sehun leans back and winces, “Ouch, my ego.”

Baekhyun shakes his head frantically. “No. No I didn’t mean it like that. I totally would have sex with you, you’re super hot. I just meant—”

“Relax, Baekhyun. I’m just joking.” He throws his arm over Baekhyun’s shoulder and begins walking toward the door. “Let’s go find your drinking buddy.”

After secretly making out with the hottest boy he’s ever known in his life, he has a little trouble trying to act like it didn’t happen. He knows he’s acting weird; he feels like everyone that looks in his direction knows what he did up in that office with Sehun. Keeping a secret is not something he’s well acquainted with, and it makes his skin feel itchy. Maybe that’s just the feeling of the alcohol wearing off. He’s glad his mother texted to let him know she’s on her way to come get him; he needs to get out of this social situation.

Minseok gives him a big hug when they finally find him. Baekhyun watches over Minseok’s shoulder as Sehun goes to wrap his arms around Hyejin from behind; he presses a quick kiss to her cheek and gives Baekhyun a sneaky wink.

“Want me to go wait in the front yard with you?”

Baekhyun pulls out of the hug and nods.

It takes approximately thirty seconds of standing in the yard with Minseok before Baekhyun’s sadness returns. He tries to keep his head turned so Minseok can’t see his face; he knows his chin is trembling and his eyes are watering. Minseok said wine drunk is supposed to be fun, but that is anything but.

“Oh, kitten,” Minseok whispers, “don’t cry. You’ll make me cry.”

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun whimpers.

“It’s not like you’re never gonna see us again,” Minseok says; he looks just as pitiful as Baekhyun. “Sehun’s studying abroad, but I’m not going that far. I’ll still come around to tease you all the time.”

This makes Baekhyun laugh, though he still looks dejected. “Your brother kissed me earlier,” he admits.

“I know,” Minseok says with a quick laugh. “I told him to. I thought it might cheer you up.”

“It did a little,” Baekhyun mumbles.

“Not bad for a first kiss, huh?” Minseok asks with a nudge to Baekhyun’s arm. “Sehun’s a great kisser.”

Baekhyun’s mother pulls up in front of the house and Minseok’s eyes line with tears that he tries hard to fight back. When he blinks one of the tears fall and he lets out a shaky breath before tugging Baekhyun in for a tight hug. He rests his chin on Baekhyun’s shoulder; Baekhyun’s face is buried in Minseok’s neck.

“I’m gonna miss you,” Minseok says, voice soft and sweet. “I feel like I’m saying goodbye to my brother and not some snotty-nosed little ninth grader I just met.” He attempts a laugh, but it comes out sounding more like sad gasp.

Baekhyun smiles and wipes his nose. “I’m in tenth grade now, technically.”

Minseok lets out a wistful sigh and looks up at the starry sky, “They grow up so fast.”

“I should go before my mom starts honking,” Baekhyun says, looking back at the car waiting for him.

“I suppose you should.” He runs fingers through Baekhyun’s hair and gives a tight smile. “Bye, kitten.”

Baekhyun has his fangs pressed hard into his bottom lip; he feels like he could cry again. He tells Minseok goodbye and, with a heavy sigh, begins walking to his mother’s car.

“Baekhyun!” Minseok shouts. “Make sure you call me when you finally make your move on Chanyeol!”


	11. Chapter 11

Summer is unbearably hot and his incessant complaining all throughout June gets his mother to finally agree to have a pool installed mid-July. He watches through his bedroom window as a crew of a few strong-looking men work to get the job done, only taking his eyes off of them long enough to grab his phone when it rings.

He gives Minseok a play-by-play of what the hottest man is doing and then invites him and Sehun to go swimming if they come home at all during the summer. Minseok teases that Baekhyun only wants to see them shirtless, and Baekhyun can’t disagree.

A week later the pool is finished and filled, and he goes to the store with Chanyeol to find a new pair of swim trunks because his pre-growth spurt pair are now comically short on him. He helps Chanyeol pick out a pair and looks forward to the day he comes over to swim with him.

He misses Sehun and Minseok every day, but never more than when he’s stepping into the pool. If he tries hard enough, he can almost imagine the swim trunks they would wear, and the way the water droplets would glisten as they rolled down their torsos. He sighs at the wonderful sight in his mind and stretches his arms above his head, getting comfortable on the pool floaty under the blazing summer sun.

At least he gets to swim with Chanyeol often.

He’s hung out with Jongin a bunch of times since the start of summer to keep himself busy when his mom and Chanyeol are both at work during the day. But, never since he got the pool; he’s too nervous to be near Jongin that undressed. Baekhyun has a history of embarrassing himself in front of hot, half-dressed boys, and he’s not willing to chance ruining the relationship with his only age-appropriate friend.

Things with Jongin are fun and easy. They have a lot in common: music tastes, movies, video games. Kyungsoo sent him a Switch for his birthday so he’s been spending a lot of time losing in Mario Kart to Jongin in his room. He’s almost won a couple times, unlike when he gets lapped playing with Chanyeol; it’s a refreshing and welcomed change to his daily routine.

There was once when he thought Jongin was going to kiss him. He was sure of it. The way Jongin slowly leaned toward him and closed his eyes; he was nervous, but he would have definitely kissed him back. He’s grown quite fond of Jongin. He wasn’t trying to kiss him though, as it turns out, Jongin quickly leaned back and sneezed. Baekhyun laughed at himself for thinking Jongin would want to kiss him. 

Still, he has a budding suspicion that Jongin may be looking for more than just friendship from him. The last time he’d stayed the night at Jongin’s house he woke in the morning with Jongin cuddling close, one arm wrapped around him and his face resting on his shoulder. He attributes the cuddling to Jongin just unknowingly moving around in his sleep, but it was still one of the more uncomfortable morning erections he’s ever had.

He and Jongin have plans to hang out later in the day, but for now, he’s going to lay here and get nice and crispy in the sun. Baekhyun shouts when the floaty suddenly flips and he lands in the cool water. He surfaces quickly and spits the chlorinated water out.

“Chanyeol! What the hell?”

“Language, young man,” he jokes.

Baekhyun wants to say something snappy back at him, but Chanyeol suddenly tugs his shirt over his head, giving Baekhyun a wonderful, beautiful view of his perfect abs before he cannonballs into the pool beside him.

Chanyeol immediately starts splashing, sending ridiculous amounts of water into Baekhyun’s face.

“Hey!” Baekhyun shouts, trying to dodge the water. “Not fair,” he begins splashing back. “Your hands are giant, this is an uneven fight!” He takes a splash to the face and chokes when water goes up his nose.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry!” Chanyeol is laughing hard, slapping Baekhyun on the back like that’s actually going to get the water out of his nose.

Baekhyun pushes Chanyeol, but he doesn’t even budge. “You’re like a brick wall.”

Chanyeol raises his arms and flexes his biceps; Baekhyun’s never been more attracted to someone in his life. He stares shamelessly, jaw dropped, at Chanyeol’s big, strong arms, wanting nothing more than for Chanyeol to carry him around like a fireman saving an innocent boy from a fire. He thinks he’d play the role well, and god would he love it.

“You jealous?”

“Shut up,” Baekhyun groans with a roll of his eyes. “You’re so full of yourself. Get out of my pool, I’m trying to relax.”

Chanyeol launches himself forward and tackles Baekhyun into the water. He puts him in a headlock and shakes him around. “Your sweet, wonderful mother said I’m allowed to use the pool whenever I want, Baekie.” He dunks Baekhyun under the water for only a second and laughs at Baekhyun’s angry shouts. “You’re just mad that your mom loves me more than you.”

“Her and I need to have a serious talk later.”

Chanyeol’s skin is a perfect, sun kissed, golden, glowing shade of beauty, and Baekhyun is open-mouthed, straight up gawking, admiring it from his lounge chair while Chanyeol dries himself with a towel. His body is out of this world, covered in toned muscles the sunlight only accentuates as he twists and turns.

Baekhyun feels like an unfaithful upper middle class suburban wife watching her gorgeous pool boy work; all he’s missing is a mixed drink from which he can sip seductively from.

Chanyeol brings his hands up to cover his nipples and fixes a fake glare onto his face. “If you keep staring I’m gonna swim in a shirt from now on.” He lays in the chair beside Baekhyun and kicks back with his arms folded behind his head. Baekhyun does the same, and they fall into a comfortable silence, just baking in the sun.

After about a half hour Chanyeol slaps his hand against Baekhyun’s chest. “We should order food.”

“Absolutely.”

“Pizza?”

“Um, duh.”

Baekhyun announces the pizza is here before the delivery person even makes it to the backyard. Chanyeol gives Baekhyun the same amazed look that he always gives him when he showcases his incredible ability to smell long distance.

“You again,” the pizza girl says as she steps up to both boys. She casts a shadow over Chanyeol’s chest when she hands over the pizza box. “Are you shirtless a lot, or do you just take it off when you know I’m bringing you pizza?”

Chanyeol laughs at her very obvious flirting and hands her a few bills. “You just seem to always catch me at a bad time.”

She bites her lip as she checks Chanyeol out head to toe. “I wouldn’t call it a bad time.”

“Have a nice day,” Baekhyun interrupts, trying to smile in a way that doesn’t come off bitter.

Chanyeol tucks his chin into his shoulder to hide his silent laugh. The girl sputters stupidly and chuckles, unsure of what to say after being sent away like a peasant by a child. She chooses to remain silent and walks away with her head held high, nose in the air like she’s suddenly too good for Chanyeol.

“I can’t believe you just did that,” Chanyeol says in amused awe. “She’s gonna spit on our next pizza.”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything.” He rolls his eyes at Chanyeol’s wide smile and reaches for the pizza box, but Chanyeol holds it out of his reach. “Come on, I’m hungry.”

Baekhyun reaches for the box again, but Chanyeol moves it away. “You just scared that girl off because she was hitting on me. Jealous little cat. You’re unbelievable.”

Baekhyun denies being jealous and tries to grab the pizza box one more time, but Chanyeol takes it in his hands and stands, holding it up above his head.

“No way. No pizza until you admit that you just scared that girl off.”

“I didn’t.” Baekhyun plants his feet firmly on the ground and balls his fists. “I don’t care about that girl.” He hops up on his toes and flails his arms, trying hard to reach above Chanyeol’s head but it’s just not possible.

Chanyeol is absolutely enjoying watching Baekhyun struggle, up until the point Baekhyun loses his balance and falls forward. He crashes into Chanyeol’s chest, knocking him off balance, and they both drop to the ground. Baekhyun lands hard on top of Chanyeol, their chests pressed together; Baekhyun’s forehead knocks into Chanyeol’s chin.

There’s a brief moment when the dust settles, where they’re just looking into each other’s eyes, and Baekhyun’s never wanted to kiss someone so bad in his life. Luckily, he’s learned some self-control, so he doesn’t do it, but god would he love to.

“Uh, hi…Baekhyun?”

Baekhyun looks up and sees Jongin standing a few feet away. He pushes up off the ground and gets to his feet as quickly as he can manage. “Um, h-hi.” He scratches his head, then his eyebrow, and dusts his shorts off.

“Am I like, interrupting something?”

“What?” Baekhyun looks over to Chanyeol who’s now sitting cross-legged on the ground and opening the pizza box to check the state of the pizza. “Oh! No. He— We were just messing around and we fell.” He chuckles in the most awkward way. “There wasn’t…anything happening.”

“Oh, okay. Well, um, did you wanna like swim or something?”

Chanyeol is just sitting on the ground eating pizza, feeling like a weird old man awkwardly watching two teenagers talk to each other. He stands and hands the box to Baekhyun.

“I’m gonna go.”

“What? Why? You didn’t even eat yet.”

Chanyeol smiles. “You guys can eat it, I’ll make something at home.” He pats Baekhyun’s shoulder and gives Jongin a friendly nod. “Nice kind of meeting you.”

“You too,” Jongin says, giving the back of Chanyeol’s retreating head an uncomfortable smile. “Who was that?” he asks Baekhyun.

“My neighbor.” He sits on his chair with a slight pout, and then offers Jongin pizza, but he politely declines. “You can swim if you want, I think I’m just gonna relax on the chair and get some nice sunburn.”

Jongin chuckles. “You better use sunscreen or your porcelain skin will fry.”

“Please,” Baekhyun scoffs, “you’re not even that ta—” The end of the word drops off when his world falls into a quiet chaos. Jongin pulls his shirt off with one arm, revealing a body Baekhyun did not expect to be hidden underneath.

The scene is that of a cheesy teen movie. Every bit of skin being slowly revealed, inch by inch as Jongin pulls his shirt up, is kissed by the sun, glowing golden in the late afternoon light. Baekhyun blinks in slow motion and his jaw drops, mouth going dry. If he thought he may have had a crush on Jongin before, he’s completely sure of it now. He grabs his tail and gulps.

Jongin drops his shirt and then gets a running start into the pool, causing a wave of water to soak Baekhyun, breaking him from the trance he’d fallen into.

“Hey!” he shouts as he gets to his feet, “you ruined the pizza!”

Jongin turns around and spits some water out. He rubs his hands over his face and slicks his hair back, grinning up at Baekhyun. “Guess you’ll just have to come swim with me now.”

“I’m so hungry!” Baekhyun jumps in after Jongin and pushes his head under the water, laughing hysterically when Jongin lifts him up and tosses him back into the water.

When he resurfaces, Jongin is lounging on the pool floaty as if he hadn’t just impressively lifted an entire person above his head. Baekhyun swims over to him and struggles his way onto the float, being careful to not flip it over.

“I can’t believe you just lifted me up like that.” He lies back and wiggles to get comfortable while the vinyl pool toy makes a horrendous creaking noise. “You’re crazy strong.”

“Nah,” Jongin shakes his head, “you’re just tiny and only weigh like 40 pounds.”

Baekhyun turns his head toward Jongin. “I weight 42 pounds, thank you very much.”

Jongin chuckles at the joke and peeks his eyes open, unaffected by the close proximity between his and Baekhyun’s faces. “You’re cute,” he says quietly, holding their close eye contact.

“Oh,” is all Baekhyun says. He continues staring at Jongin, wondering if he actually just heard him right. The soft, shy curve of Jongin’s very pretty, very thick lips tells Baekhyun he did. Sehun is going to have so much fun telling him ‘I told you so’. “You’re—”

Baekhyun’s eyebrows shoot up at the suddenness, but he closes his eyes and leans into Jongin’s lips, kissing him back slowly and with a soft gasp. Jongin reaches his arm over and very gently places his hand on Baekhyun’s naked waist, almost like he’s unsure if it’s okay to touch him. When Baekhyun doesn’t stop him, Jongin deepens the kiss and turns his body toward him.

The move causes an uneven weight distribution and the float tips over, sending them both tumbling into the water. Jongin grabs Baekhyun by the shoulder and presses their lips together again as they break through the surface of the water.

It feels really good kissing Jongin. There’s no tongue like when Sehun had kissed him before, but it causes the same warm stir in his stomach. Jongin’s hand slides down his back, just inches from his tail, and Baekhyun whimpers against his lips.

“Ahem.”

Baekhyun pushes off of Jongin so hard they both fall backward into the water. He steadies himself and swipes his wet bangs away from his eyes, thinking only afterward that he should have left them there to hide his shame from his mother standing at the edge of the pool, raising an accusatory brow at her son.

“Mom, I-I didn’t know you were home already.”

“Clearly,” she says with amusement, then holds out a towel for Baekhyun as he climbs out of the pool. “And, who is your friend?”

Jongin bypasses the pool ladder; Baekhyun watches his arms flex as he lifts his weight from the water. So, so hot. He’s so fucking hot. He’s so incredibly hot and he just kissed him. Baekhyun would be grinning right now were it not for his mother’s presence.

Jongin grabs a towel and dries his hands first, so he can shake Baekhyun’s mother’s hand. “I-I’m Jongin, ma’am. It’s nice to meet you. Sorry for kissing your son.”

Baekhyun’s mother chuckles. “Nice to meet you too, dear. And, you don’t have to apologize. You’re both old enough, and it’s a natural thing.”

“Mom,” Baekhyun whines, “please don’t do the therapist thing right now, I’m already embarrassed enough.”

She raises her hands in front of herself. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I’ll let you boys be.” She turns her back, then quickly turns around. “I was coming to ask if you wanted me to make you something to eat. I can tell by the ruined pizza that the answer is likely yes, so I’ll just go make some sandwiches and bring them out to you two.”

The boys thank her in unison and she begins walking away. She stops once again and turns back to them. “And, I’d appreciate it if you could control yourselves until I return. I don’t want to walk in on anything again.”

“Mom! Please!”

“Okay,” she grins, “I’m going. Have fun. Not too much, though.”

“Oh my god mom, go in the house!”

She finally leaves, chuckling, and Baekhyun can’t bring himself to look at Jongin. If he were to drop dead right now, he doesn’t think he’d mind that much. His mother never gets home early, but of course she would when he’s making out with a boy in the backyard.

“I’m so sorry that just happened,” Baekhyun says, finally looking over to Jongin.

“The kiss or your mom seeing it?”

“No, the kiss was— tha-that was good. I’m sorry my mom made it super awkward.”

Jongin shrugs, he’s pouting slightly and it looks really good on him. “It’s okay.”

They sit on the chairs and stare at the water sloshing around in the pool. Baekhyun has no idea what to say; he doesn’t think anything would make things less weird.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time,” Jongin says.

Baekhyun whips his head up, jaw dropped in disbelief. “You have?”

“I like you, Baekhyun. You’re super cute and funny, and,” he shrugs, “I just like being around you.”

“You do?”

Jongin chuckles now. “I can't tell if you’re really oblivious or if I’m just really bad at flirting.”

“You flirt with me?”

“Are you just gonna keep asking me questions?”

Baekhyun shakes his head, knocking his brain back into motion. “No, no of course not. I’m sorry. I’m just like…in shock.”

“Why?”

“I mean like, have you seen you? You’re tall and so tan,” he gives Jongin a onceover and groans at his still shirtless body, “you’re so hot.”

Jongin laughs and scoots to the edge of his seat to be closer to Baekhyun. “Do you think you’re ugly or something?”

Baekhyun shrugs.

“Well, you’re not.” He leans in to peck Baekhyun’s lips quickly. “If it makes you feel better, I’d still like you even if you were ugly. But you definitely aren’t.”

Baekhyun smiles; he’s never had a boy like him before. Jongin’s face is still really close, so he takes the opportunity and kisses him again.

“Really, son?”

Baekhyun wipes his mouth off and looks up at his mother with a small, giddy smile; she’s holding a plate stacked with a few sandwiches and some fruit on it. She looks extremely unamused.

“We’re having the sex talk tonight, young man.”

Baekhyun falls back in his seat and covers his face. “Mom, oh my god!”

Chanyeol laughs loud and hard, slapping his knee, wholeheartedly amused by Baekhyun’s suffering. He’s just been filled in on what happened by the pool and thinks it’s the funniest thing in the world.

“I hate you so much. It’s not funny.” Baekhyun is pouting angrily, arms crossed over his chest.

“It’s hilarious. Your mom is the best. I wish I could have been there.” He grimaces at the thought. “Actually no, never mind. I don’t want to watch you kiss boys.” He nudges at Baekhyun with his elbow, trying to get him to stop frowning at him. “Oh come on, you’re not allowed to be grumpy right after you just had your first kiss.”

“It wasn’t my first kiss,” Baekhyun sneers.

“Wait, really?”

Baekhyun is filled with regret; he never planned to tell anyone about his kiss with Sehun. But, there’s no way of getting out of this now. He sighs.

“At Sehun and Minseok’s grad party I kinda…kissed Sehun a little bit.”

“You what?!” Chanyeol shouts. He slaps at Baekhyun’s arm a few times. “I can’t believe you never told me! I’m hurt, Baekhyun, truly.”

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun laughs at Chanyeol’s dramatic reaction. “I didn’t think it was something I needed to tell you.”

Chanyeol frowns. “Well, I mean…yeah I guess it’s not.”

“Why do you wanna know about me kissing boys, Chanyeol? Huh?” He laughs, but Chanyeol does not. “Okay,” Baekhyun says slowly, “we’ll forget I asked that.” He gives Chanyeol a tight-lipped smile that Chanyeol returns, and then nods his head because he feels extremely awkward right now for some reason.

“So is Jongin like, your boyfriend or something?”

“I don’t think so,” Baekhyun shrugs. “Kissing him was really nice, though.” He smiles to himself. “I do really like him though. We’ve been friends for a while now.”

“How old is he?”

“He’s 17, why?”

“Just wondering.”

Baekhyun’s eyes narrow; he knows Chanyeol too well to believe that he’s just curious about Jongin for no reason. “Why though?”

Chanyeol doesn’t answer right away, and he doesn’t look at Baekhyun either. When he finally speaks, his answer makes Baekhyun’s heart flutter.

“Because, if he hurts you, I’ll beat his ass.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not even a little bit sorry about this chapter. Good luck!

By the start of the school year, after weeks of swimming, ice cream dates, and poolside make outs, Jongin asks Baekhyun to be his boyfriend. He says yes, obviously his answer is yes, and Jongin is ecstatic. The only person happier than Jongin is Baekhyun’s mother; he thinks she may like Jongin more than him. It’s mildly concerning, but also amusing watching Jongin try so hard to make his mother like him when she clearly is already infatuated with him.

The worst part comes three weeks into them being official boyfriends. His mother sits them down on the couch in the living room after catching them in a rather intimate position and explains, in detail, the rules of consent and other sexual matters pertaining to a relationship. Baekhyun keeps his eyes closed, pinching the bridge of his nose throughout the entire thing, wishing the couch would swallow him and put him out of his misery. 

Chanyeol finds that story even more amusing than when she caught them making out in the pool, and Baekhyun does punch him this time.

“You gotta learn to be more sneaky,” Chanyeol advises. “I had sex with a ton of guys in high school without my parents ever even knowing they were even in the house.”

Baekhyun raises an eyebrow. “A ton?”

“I mean,” Chanyeol looks away and scratches at his head, “not like a crazy amount of guys, but a decent amount.” He leans forward to grab his beer and takes a sip. “Let’s not talk about that though.”

“No, let’s talk about your sex life!” Baekhyun revels in this rare chance to tease Chanyeol. “That sounds like fun.”

“Let’s talk about yours instead, huh? Little punk.”

Baekhyun’s face burns. “We— I don’t have sex.”

“Oh.” Chanyeol blinks for a moment. “Oh, well that’s good…I guess.”

“I want to, though.” 

“Right now?” Chanyeol asks jokingly, pointing between himself and Baekhyun. He realizes that was the wrong thing to say, and also probably wildly inappropriate, and immediately takes it back. “Sorry, that was a stupid and very bad joke.”

The joke stirs up something fierce inside Baekhyun; he knows Chanyeol is only kidding, but it doesn’t stop his imagination from running wild with thoughts of what it would be like to have Chanyeol like that. How easily he could crawl across the couch and into Chanyeol’s lap right now. His entire body is on fire within seconds.

“I’d have sex with you,” he admits in a flat voice; he’s breathing heavy and doesn’t even realize it. He licks his lips and blinks himself out of his inappropriate thoughts and then realizes what he just said. “I’m sorry.” He stands and backs toward the door, desperately wanting to get out of this house and away from Chanyeol. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”

Baekhyun slams his door and begins pacing the length of his room, absolutely distraught. Why would he say that to Chanyeol? Why would he look him directly in the eyes and tell him he wants to have sex with him. He makes eye contact with himself in the mirror on the wall.

“You’re the worst person ever,” he says to himself. “You have a boyfriend, you idiot.”

He sits in his desk chair and tips his head back. He hates that he said that to Chanyeol, and he hates that he’s still thinking about what the sex would be like. Most of all, he hates that his dick is throbbing at the thought. 

His dick is incessant and he knows there’s no chance of his boner going down on its own, so he sighs and stands and begins unbuttoning his jeans. Sudden music from outside catches his attention as he steps closer to his bed, so he looks out the window. 

Chanyeol is in his backyard, which usually isn’t something to stare at but his shirt is off and, in Baekhyun’s current worked up state, it’s an exciting sight to see. He pauses mid-step and leans against the wall beside his window, trying to figure out what Chanyeol is doing. 

He raises his arms up above his head and brings them down to one side, stretching toward the grass. 

“Oh god”, Baekhyun moans, hand now shoved into his underwear, “he’s doing yoga again.”

Chanyeol has been into yoga on and off for a few months now; he’s gained quite a bit of flexibility and given Baekhyun many wet dreams filled with abs and long, toned legs wrapped in tight leggings. Baekhyun supports him in his yoga journey, but he wishes he would wear sweat pants or something, because that formfitting polyester is going to be the death of him.

Today just might be that day.

Baekhyun has a brief memory of the day when Kyungsoo caught him peeking at Chanyeol through his front window and realizes this is much worse, but his hand is already too slicked with precum to care. 

A sudden jolt of pleasure rocks through his body and his breath stutters. Chanyeol continues moving through various poses. Downward dog is where he’s at now; he only knows the name from when Chanyeol once brought it up because it has the word dog in it. Baekhyun doesn’t care much for the name, to be honest, but he appreciates the ass up nature of the pose. 

Chanyeol moves into something that looks like he’s trying to break his back, with his head hanging back, hands on his ankles behind him holding his body up. Baekhyun’s eyes focus on Chanyeol’s dick, perfectly outlined in the dark material; it’s unreal the amount of detail he can make out from this far away. His dick must be big, Baekhyun thinks.

He bites his lip and comes into his hand, panting, still staring at Chanyeol innocently doing yoga in what he assumes is the privacy of his back yard. Baekhyun grabs a shirt from his floor and wipes himself up, discarding it back into the pile after.

He knows he should be ashamed of what he just did, but that was the best orgasm he’s ever had. He buttons his pants and sits at the edge of his bed, head in his hands. Then he realizes where his right hand just was, and what it was just covered in and he winces, placing his hand on the mattress beside him.

Kyungsoo was right, he is a little creep. 

Watching Chanyeol becomes sort of a guilty pleasure for Baekhyun, one that he’d never tell anyone about. Especially not his boyfriend. Without his knowledge, Chanyeol helps Baekhyun through many heat cycles throughout the school year, which seem to be increasing in frequency. They used to come once every four or five months, but since he started masturbating to Chanyeol’s back yard yoga sessions his heat hits every other month. He never stops to think that there might be a correlation between the two. He instead chalks it up to frequently making out with Jongin but stopping things before they go too far. 

The worst thing he’s done, the thing that makes him feel like an actual pervert, is when he’d happened to notice Chanyeol in his room, undressing in front of his window one night. He knows he should have looked away. He knows it was creepy, but he couldn’t move from his hiding spot beside his window. Chanyeol stripped completely naked and Baekhyun watched the entire show. He came exceptionally hard that night. And he was right, Chanyeol does have a big dick. 

He tells himself what he’s doing is just like watching porn to try to lessen the blow from the realization that he’s essentially a peeping tom.

He’s admittedly very ashamed of what he does, but watching Chanyeol turns him on beyond belief, and sometimes it’s the only thing that helps to break his heat. He knows he has a boyfriend that would likely love to take on that task, but he doesn’t think he’s ready for actual sex just yet. Especially since the conversation he had with Minseok where he found out hybrids can sometimes form a sort of bond with the people they have sex with. 

Baekhyun likes Jongin, but he doesn’t know if he wants to form some weird sex bond with him. At least, not right now he doesn’t. Maybe someday. For now, he’ll stick to hot make outs with Jongin, and peeping on Chanyeol doing back-breaking yoga poses to jerk off to. 

Baekhyun thinks he might be a bad boyfriend. He knows he’s a bad boyfriend.

He looks out his window. Chanyeol is on his knees again, bending backwards in a way that looks painful. With a sigh, Baekhyun spits into his hand and gets to work.

Camel pose. He finds out the name a few days later. The back-breaking pose doesn’t look as appealing when the women in the google image search do it, but Chanyeol sure makes it look sexy. He comes across one conveniently named the cat pose and his eyes roll back thinking of how he’d like to do that pose for Chanyeol someday. One called the wide-legged forward bend makes Baekhyun audibly moan and he shakes his head before quickly closing out of the tab.

He needs a hobby or something that isn’t so pathetic to fill his free time with.

He’s only sitting on the couch with nothing to do because he’s waiting for Jongin to show up so they can go swimming. After his sixteenth birthday the weather began to get warmer, so his mother opened the pool back up for them.

His heat has been on the edge of starting for a few days, since he last jerked off watching Chanyeol, and that’s a little worrisome. He isn’t sure how he’ll act around Jongin, especially once they inevitably begin putting their hands all over each other in the water. He’s always tried to have excuses ready for why he can’t hang out with Jongin when he knows his heat is coming, but on the phone earlier he slipped up and invited him over. 

Maybe his mother’s sex talk wasn’t in vain after all; some of her advice might come in handy today. 

Jongin’s car pulls up in front of his house. Baekhyun listens to him walk up the driveway, up the steps, and he knocks on the door. Baekhyun heaves a sigh and gets up to let him in. 

“Hey.” Jongin kisses him in the doorway quickly then takes him by the waist to spin him around. Baekhyun giggles until his feet are returned to the floor; his back is pressed to the door and the sound of his laughter is muted by Jongin’s lips on his again. Jongin’s lips move to Baekhyun’s neck and he gasps; this is a feeling he’s used to, but it’s more intense now.

Baekhyun’s eyes shoot open. “Oh no,” he whispers in panic.

Jongin backs off quickly, giving Baekhyun a worried onceover. “What’s wrong? Should I not have done that?”

Baekhyun bites his lip and shakes his head, forcing a smile onto his face. “No, no, it was great. I just…really want to go swimming.”

“Okay,” Jongin says with a slight, off put frown. “Well, let’s go.” 

“I’ll meet you out there,” Baekhyun says as he drags his open hand down Jongin’s chest, “Gotta go grab my swim trunks.”

He remains still until he hears the back door close, and he finally lets out a long breath. His heart is pounding hard, all the way down to his fingertips pressed into the wall he’s still leaning against. 

His heat has just begun, and he has to go swim with his boyfriend. He can totally manage this.

Minseok was right back when he told him that it’s easier to control himself when he knows what to expect from his heat. This is far from his first one and it’s definitely not as bad as it used to be. Months ago, he would have never been able to be this close to a shirtless boy without losing his mind. Especially not one so ready and willing to make out with him. 

He’s sitting at the side of the pool, arms stretched out behind him to hold him up, kicking his legs in the water. Jongin is swimming around, doing flips like an excited child, or a dolphin, Baekhyun isn’t sure which he most resembles. Either way, it’s adorable. 

Jongin swims over to Baekhyun and folds his arms beside Baekhyun to keep himself still. He looks up at him, squinting because the sun is in his eyes, and he smiles. “Hey cutie, gonna come swim with me?”

They’ve been dating for nearly eight months now and Jongin has adopted a list of pet names to call him. He leans forward and brushes Jongin’s wet hair back, out of his face. “You have really pretty eyes.”

Jongin laces their fingers. “You have really pretty lips.” Then he smirks and tugs hard on Baekhyun’s arm, sending him flying into the pool. Jongin catches him and wraps both arms around him. “Let me see if your lips are as soft as they look.”

Baekhyun throws his head back and laughs. “You’re so cheesy.”

“Just for you, baby.”

“I’m gonna kiss you right now, but only so you can’t talk anymore.”

Jongin tips his head a few times and hums as if thinking. “Deal.”

Baekhyun swims backward, their lips locked together. Jongin would be lying flat on top of him if they weren’t currently floating in water. They hit the edge of the pool and Jongin grabs Baekhyun’s thighs and hikes him up, wrapping his legs around his hips. 

Jongin presses his lips to Baekhyun’s neck again and it flips that same feral switch in his brain. His head falls back and he moans loud, skin burning everywhere Jongin is making contact with him. The sound seems to turn Jongin on; he nips at Baekhyun’s collarbone then moves down to his nipple.

It feels so good Baekhyun’s moan is silent. His back arches him forward into Jongin’s mouth as he digs his fingers into Jongin’s hair at the back of his head to keep him in place. The sensation disappears and Baekhyun opens his eyes. Jongin is smiling up at him.

“I’d go lower but I can’t breathe under water.”

Baekhyun rushes to take two handfuls of Jongin’s hair, tugging him up. “That’s okay,” he whispers before giving Jongin a sloppy kiss. “That’s okay.” He climbs higher up Jongin’s body, arms wrapped fully around his neck and the back of his head. Jongin’s hand slides from Baekhyun’s hip to his back, and moves down to the base of his tail, causing Baekhyun to jerk forward with a full-body shudder. Now that’s a new sensation; Jongin’s never touched his tail before.

“Does that feel good?” Jongin whispers, genuinely curious. He’s just wants this to be good for Baekhyun. 

“Oh god, so good,” Baekhyun groans. Jongin does it again and watches this time as Baekhyun’s jaw drops and eyes roll with a flutter. 

“I wanna make you come,” Jongin rushes out before continuing to play with Baekhyun’s tail, but this time with his other hand buried in Baekhyun’s swim trunks. 

It’s like nothing Baekhyun’s ever felt before. He wonders why he’s never thought to play with his tail at the same time as his dick like this. He wonders why he’s never let things go far enough for Jongin to start touching his dick. His moans spill out over and over, growing louder and breathier until Jongin licks a hot stripe up his neck and he’s coming into the water.

Baekhyun leans back on the ledge to catch his breath, chest heaving and heart pounding. Jongin’s hands are resting on his hips and he’s just staring up at Baekhyun.

“That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” he admits.

Baekhyun doesn’t open his eyes, but he gives Jongin a crooked smile, showing off one of his little fangs. That easily beats any orgasm he’s ever given himself, no contest. He takes a final deep breath and opens his eyes; Jongin is looking up at him like he’s never seen someone so beautiful and it makes Baekhyun feel shy. Which is weird, because he doesn’t feel shy about coming in a swimming pool.

“Give me like, one second to breathe normal again and then we can have sex,” Baekhyun says as he sits up.

Jongin’s eyes go impossibly wide, “Wait, are— Really?” They’ve talked about this and Jongin knows where Baekhyun stands on the whole sex issue. It’s more of a topic than an issue, really; Jongin would never pressure Baekhyun to do anything he doesn’t want to do. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Jongin insists.

Baekhyun grins and leans in to kiss Jongin. “I’m in heat,” he rushes out in a whisper against Jongin’s lips. “I very much want to.”

He’s learned, in the months since his regular cycle began, that coming just once isn’t enough to break his heat. On average he goes for four solo rounds, but he thinks with Jongin, a second time should be enough. 

A cool breeze causes Baekhyun to shiver, so Jongin hops out of the pool then takes Baekhyun’s hand and helps him up onto dry land. Baekhyun is handed a towel, which he wraps around himself over his shoulders, and then Jongin wraps his arms around him from behind. 

Sweet nothings are whispered into Baekhyun’s ear as they waddle forward toward one of the lounge chairs. Jongin lays on the chair, pulling Baekhyun down to sit between his spread legs, and he immediately begins kissing the skin just below Baekhyun’s ear.

Baekhyun tips his head to expose more of his neck and sighs in content. “You’re really good at this.” Jongin’s lips trace the expanse of Baekhyun’s shoulder and Baekhyun melts into it. Now that he’s out of the water, and he’s shaken most of the water from his tail, he wraps it loosely around Jongin’s forearm.

“I honestly didn’t know you could like, move your tail like that.”

Baekhyun giggles and moves his tail to tickle at Jongin’s face. “I sure can.”

Jongin grips Baekhyun up suddenly and flips their positions, letting Baekhyun’s towel fall open. One of Baekhyun’s legs is hanging off the chair to make room for Jongin to kneel between his knees. He palms Baekhyun’s dick and smirks at the gentle gasp, and the erratic way Baekhyun’s tail flicks. 

“You make really pretty faces Baekhyun.”

“You smell so good right now,” Baekhyun whispers. He can feel Jongin’s hand falter for a second; that’s the first time he’s ever said that to Jongin and he realizes that it may have been a strange thing to say. “I’m sorry, that was probably weird.”

Jongin sits up a bit and gives Baekhyun a confused look. “What? No, you’re a hybrid. Aren’t scents like a big thing for you?”

“I— yeah. How do you know that?”

Jongin looks down at both his and Baekhyun’s bulges that are so close to touching, then gives Baekhyun a small smile. “Do you really wanna talk about that right now?”

“Absolutely not.” He draws a line down Jongin’s chest with the damp tip of his tail. “Let’s have sex instead.”

This isn’t exactly how Baekhyun imagined he’d lose his virginity, outside in the middle of the afternoon beside his pool. He for sure never thought he’d let it happen while he was in heat, but Jongin unties the string on his swim trunks and pulls them down and there’s no doubt in his mind; he’s absolutely going to let this happen. 

“Wow, okay,” Baekhyun licks his lips, “that’s…you have a really nice dick.”

Jongin shoulders shake in a silent laugh. “You’re so cute.”

Jongin pulls at Baekhyun’s swim trunks slowly, past the knees, and slips them over his feet. He sits back for a second, taking in the wonderful view of a fully naked Baekhyun. 

“Wow.”

“What?” Baekhyun asks, feeling suddenly self-conscious. He attempts to hide some of himself from Jongin’s gaze, but Jongin grabs his wrists and pins them to the chair by his hips.

“Your body is great, don’t cover it.” He gives Baekhyun a quick kiss, just something to reassure him. “Lay down.” He guides Baekhyun slowly onto his back and situates himself between his legs.

This part of his physiology is something Baekhyun has researched intensively, because the first time it happened he freaked out and almost called Kyungsoo to ask if he was sick. After a google search, he’s glad he didn’t ask Kyungsoo about it, because if he had to have the hybrid phenomenon of self-lubrication explained to him by his brother he would have disintegrated on the spot. 

Sure, it’s basically the same thing as when he’s seen girls in porn get wet, but he’s fairly certain human males don’t gush their own brand of lube from their ass when they’re horny like he does. He thanks google every day for saving him from what would have been the worst conversation of his life.

“You ready?” Jongin asks, his voice so soft and sweet. 

Baekhyun nods and Jongin slides his hands from Baekhyun’s knees to his thighs and spreads his legs. 

“You sure?”

Baekhyun takes Jongin by the back of the neck and looks into his eyes. “Jongin, stop talking.”

After that, Baekhyun holds his breath; he knows this is going to hurt. He squeezes his eyes shut when he feels the tip of Jongin’s fingers press against his hole, and slick gushes out of him onto the chair below. 

Jongin gasps. “You know when I said earlier that was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen? Yeah, I was so wrong. Holy shit, wow.”

“Jongin, please,” Baekhyun breathes, body on fire as he becomes more impatient and hornier by the second.

“Sorry,” Jongin says and then slides two fingers into Baekhyun with a surprising ease.

“Oh.” Baekhyun’s breath stutters; it doesn’t hurt, just feels an interesting mix of weird and extremely pleasurable. “Oh,” he moans when Jongin begins thrusting his fingers. He can feel the stretch when a third finger is added, and a hint of pain, but it’s bearable. 

Baekhyun’s eyes flutter in the most beautiful of ways. His head tips back with a moan, chest rising with heavy breaths, and Jongin can’t take his eyes off the flawless display of pale skin. Baekhyun’s arms are stretched above his head and folded over each other, pulling his body taut to expose his usually undefined muscles. The sunlight gives Baekhyun’s skin a soft, yellow glow, and the scattered clouds cast a shadow over his face. 

Jongin leans over Baekhyun’s body, unable to resist kissing away what little breath Baekhyun has left any longer. It’s a clumsy kiss; Jongin misses his lips at first but finds them quickly. Baekhyun’s tail swishes for a moment and then grazes Jongin’s arm before circling his wrist and giving It a gentle tug. 

Jongin takes the hint and carefully pulls his fingers out, but takes a moment to rub teasing circles at Baekhyun’s entrance, wanting to see the self-lubrication again. He gets what he wants, licks his lips at the sight, wonders what it tastes like. Baekhyun whines and shakes his ass enticingly; Jongin will have to wait till next time to get a taste.

The stretch when Jongin pushes into Baekhyun causes him to yelp. Jongin immediately freezes in place, hands on Baekhyun’s narrow hips, terrified he’s hurt him. He watches Baekhyun closely, waits for his breathing to steady, and then slowly continues. 

Baekhyun’s eyes are closed tight, face twisted in a pained frown when Jongin’s thighs press flush against his. He has his legs thrown over Jongin’s, bent at the knee with his feet flat on the chair. It’s a very intimate position, with Jongin’s forehead resting against his, he can feel Jongin’s breath hot against his cheek. 

The pain ebbs to a dull ache and he nods, whispering for Jongin to go ahead. 

It’s slow, a steady pace that builds as Baekhyun relaxes, and his heat engulfs him. His body goes limp, giving itself over to Jongin completely. Moans come one after another; Jongin fucks him just right, in a way he never knew he needed but now knows he doesn’t want to live without. It’s an intensity unlike any other, taking full control of Baekhyun’s every move and thought, filling him with nothing but bliss, rendering him oblivious to anything outside of Jongin’s touch.

Baekhyun understands now why Minseok and Sehun were unable to resist each other despite being stepbrothers. He wants to experience this kind of ardent pleasure every day for the rest of his life.

Jongin’s pace has quickened now; Baekhyun has his arms wrapped tight around him and Jongin’s face is buried in his neck, breathing heavily from the exhausting effort to please his boyfriend. 

“Jong-ah-Jongin,” Baekhyun gasps. Jongin turns his head to take Baekhyun’s lips. “Mmph,” he mumbles into Jongin’s mouth. “I— ‘m gonna come.” 

Baekhyun lays his head back, body tensing from head to toe as he turns his head so that he doesn’t moan directly into Jongin’s ear. His eyes open for only a moment, sight unfocused as the bright light filters in. 

Realization hits at the same time his orgasm pulses through him and his eyes snap open, focusing on Chanyeol standing frozen in the distance looking thoroughly scandalized. Baekhyun shrieks and shoves Jongin, sending him backward over the chair that then flips over, and they both land in the grass with a dull thud. 

“What’s wrong?” Jongin shouts in confusion. He rushes to Baekhyun’s side to make sure he’s okay.

“What are you doing?” Baekhyun’s face is horrified, humiliated, angry.

Jongin immediately releases his hold on Baekhyun’s shoulders, afraid he’d somehow crossed a line at some point.

“Not you,” Baekhyun says, “him!” He glares at Chanyeol who just puts his hands up and begins backing away from them.

“What the hell, dude,” Jongin yells; he swipes the towel from the grass beside him and hands it over to Baekhyun so he can cover himself.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Chanyeol is shaking his head, taking quick steps backward toward his house. “I wasn’t— I didn’t mean to— I’m sorry. Fuck, I’m so sorry.”

Baekhyun can hear Chanyeol swearing under his breath until he disappears into his house. He can’t move, he’s too mortified to find the strength to stand. Jongin takes him by the shoulders and flips the chair upright so he can sit him on it. He grabs their swim trunks, handing Baekhyun his and slipping his own up his legs. 

Baekhyun stares dumbly into the grass, holding his swim trunks balled in one hand, tears line his eyes. He feels numb, mentally and physically. How long had Chanyeol been standing there, he wonders. Why was he standing there?

As if Jongin can read Baekhyun’s mind, he sits beside him and gives him one of those weird, one-armed, reassuring dad-style hugs. 

“I’m sorry I pushed you over,” Baekhyun eventually says in a soft, distant voice. “I saw Chanyeol, literally, as my cum was hitting my stomach, and it freaked me out.”

“Why the hell was he standing there watching anyway?” Jongin can see Baekhyun is still upset, so he rubs his hand along his back in an effort to comfort him.

Baekhyun just shakes his head, trying to think of an answer. “I don’t think he was watching. He looked terrified when I first saw him.” He leans into Jongin’s side and sighs some of the tension away, finding a calmness pressed this closely to Jongin. 

Eventually, Jongin offers to slide Baekhyun’s swim trunks up his legs for him. Baekhyun agrees and leans back on his hands, lifting one leg at a time so that Jongin can slip his feet in. Jongin takes Baekhyun by the hands and helps him stand; he kisses him softly as he pulls the swim trunks up to Baekhyun’s hips. 

It’s safe to say his heat is broken now. Even if not, he’s to scarred to want to have sex again any time soon. Not outside at least. He pouts and bumps Jongin’s hip with his own.

“You didn’t get to finish,” he says as he wraps his arms around Jongin’s. “I’m sorry.”

Jongin grins, “I don’t think I could have if I wanted to. Not with your creep neighbor staring at me anyway.” 

He grabs Baekhyun suddenly and throws him over his shoulder; Baekhyun flails and laughs, tail swaying rapidly in Jongin’s face as he’s carried toward the front of the house. They almost tumble backward when Jongin ascends the porch steps; Baekhyun takes hold of Jongin’s swim trunks to steady himself and stop him from sliding face first toward the ground.

Baekhyun looks up and locks eyes with Chanyeol standing near his car, keys in hand. His body burns hot, and Chanyeol ducks into his car as quickly as he can manage, averting his face from Baekhyun’s gaze the entire time.

“Let’s go to my room,” Baekhyun says as they enter the house. He yelps as he’s pulled forward, having to be caught by Jongin when his feet hit the ground and he loses his balance.

“Yeah?” Jongin says, voice low and interested. He laces their fingers and holds Baekhyun’s arms behind his back. He touches their noses together, following Baekhyun’s backward steps toward his door. “What are we gonna do in there?” Jongin whispers against Baekhyun’s lips. 

Baekhyun smiles; maybe his heat isn’t broken after all. 

After another round of sex Jongin goes home. Baekhyun lays motionless on his back in bed, giving the ceiling a blank stare. He wonders if it means anything that he feels, in no way, closer to Jongin after having sex with him. Based on what Minseok had told him, he was expecting something to change. He expected metaphorical fireworks, or crying; he thought he’d feel something. But, he doesn’t.

He hears Chanyeol’s car pull up next door and he sighs.

Everything just feels so lackluster.


	13. Chapter 13

The end of tenth grade comes quickly and brings with it difficult changes to Baekhyun’s happy little life. He’s entering eleventh grade and Jongin has graduated, with plans to move away for college in the fall. He was accepted to the same university Minseok is attending and, as sad as Baekhyun should be, he’s more excited to use it as an excuse to visit Minseok.

On a Wednesday night, after a full day of binge watching Hulu, eating junk food, and lots of sex, Jongin once again brings up the fact that he’s moving more than eight hundred miles away in less than two months. They’ve talked about it a few times since school ended and Baekhyun can tell that Jongin is much more concerned about it than he is. Jongin realizes it too, Baekhyun thinks. He can’t help it, though.

After he lost his virginity to Jongin, it’s as if the exact opposite of what Minseok said would happen happened. Instead of some bond forming between them, Baekhyun feels more distant. He still likes Jongin and spending time with him. They still have fun when they’re together, but Baekhyun feels more like he’s having sex with his best friend rather than someone he’s in a committed relationship with. He wishes he could change the way he feels, because Jongin deserves better, but he can’t.

It’s terribly confusing for Baekhyun’s young mind, wanting to reciprocate feelings for someone, but being unable to. Still, it’s a weird concept for Baekhyun to grasp, that his boyfriend of almost a year will no longer be just a short ten minute drive away. He knows it’s for the wrong reasons, but he is sad Jongin is moving so far away. Once he’s gone, Baekhyun will no longer have anyone to fuck him through his heat cycles.

He’s tries not to be angry with himself over it. He makes himself believe that this is normal, that he’s just trying to suppress his sadness, but that just isn’t the case. So, to avoid feeling guilty, he tells himself that this is just how high school relationships go, that they never last. If only he could really believe he’s not the worst boyfriend in the history of boyfriends.

He knows what he has to do, but he’s not looking forward to it.

It’s not an impulsive decision, not at all. Baekhyun spent weeks thinking about this. He’s had many late nights, lying awake in bed, unable to sleep because his mind won’t stop racing. He’s never had a boyfriend, so he’s never had to break up with someone. He’s nervous and scared, and just hopes Jongin understands and doesn’t hate him.

Had Baekhyun realized his true feelings earlier, he would have worked up the courage to end things with Jongin long before they were coming up to their one year anniversary. But, he's selfish, and a coward, and he now realizes his mistake is going to make things much more difficult.

He looks over at Jongin, sight focused on the television, and sighs. This is really going to suck.

They’re comfortably cuddling at the head of the bed, and Jongin is caught off guard by Baekhyun’s sudden suggestion. His face falls and he pulls his hand from where his and Baekhyun’s fingers are laced, moving to sit at the edge of the bed with his back to Baekhyun.

“Is that really what you want?”

Baekhyun stares at the back of Jongin’s head, his slumped shoulders, his hands fidgeting in his lap, for an unknown amount of time. Baekhyun doesn’t want to answer the question, doesn’t want to hurt Jongin any further, but he knows it’s unavoidable.

He twists his tail in his hands as a disheartened frown forms slowly on his face, and then he looks up and blinks tears out of his eyes.

“I don’t know,” he admits, chin beginning to tremble. He doesn’t want to be the one hurting someone’s feelings; he’s never been good at being the bad guy. That’s why he’s stayed with Jongin for so long in the first place; Jongin is so happy being with him, how could he possibly break up with him?

Jongin turns to face Baekhyun now, looking dejected and confused. “So don’t do it.”

Baekhyun doesn’t have a response; he can’t look Jongin in his tear-lined eyes and tell him he doesn’t have the same kind of feelings that Jongin has for him. He may be a terrible boyfriend, but he’s not trying to rub salt in the wound. Instead, he crawls forward and wraps his arms around Jongin’s neck from behind, squishing their cheeks together; Jongin smells good and Baekhyun doesn’t like that Jongin is clearly more hurt by this than he is. Still, he knows this is the right thing to do. He presses his lips to Jongin’s cheek and holds them there for a long time.

“Just promise me we’ll stay friends,” Baekhyun says.

He doesn’t understand what, but he knows he did something wrong because Jongin jerks away from him and silently retrieves his clothes from the floor. He bends down to step into his underwear and looks up at Baekhyun with an angry frown.

“Are you serious?” He slips one leg into his jeans and then the other, and wiggles them up his legs. “You-you just broke up with me and then,” he buttons his jeans and tosses his shirt on over his head, “then you want me to act like nothing happened?”

“Jongin, I—” Baekhyun sighs and stands, taking the sheet with him to cover his naked body. “Come on, you know you were just gonna break up with me when you left for college anyway.”

Jongin scoffs and shakes his head in disbelief as he walks to the door and opens it. He turns back to Baekhyun, “I wasn’t gonna break up with you.”

After Jongin storms out of his room Baekhyun dresses himself and goes crying to his mother, because she’s a levelheaded adult who gives great advice, and also a therapist. She doesn’t have any sort of wisdom to impart on him, but she does let him curl against her and cry through his first break up.

He may have wanted this, but it still hurts knowing he broke Jongin’s heart.

He calls Kyungsoo later that night, in search of brotherly comfort, but instead is told he’s an idiot; Baekhyun doesn’t necessarily disagree with Kyungsoo, but it still hurts to hear it. They talk for almost an hour and Baekhyun cries a little more, but by the end of the conversation he feels a little better.

Minseok reasons that Baekhyun just didn’t like Jongin as much as he thought he did, that’s why it was so easy for him to break things off between them. He agrees that Baekhyun was growing distant from Jongin and, by that logic, unsound as it may seem, breaking up was the right decision.

Sehun says that Baekhyun was just in it for the mind-blowing heat sex, but what does he know? Sehun had feelings for a girl who liked him back and he still tried to sleep with her sister; Baekhyun doesn’t even entertain Sehun’s reasoning.

He wonders what Chanyeol would say about all of this. Out of everyone Baekhyun knows, Chanyeol has always been the most sensible, and most concerned about Baekhyun’s happiness and wellbeing. They haven’t spoken since the sex scandal a little over a month ago. They made accidental eye contact one day last week when Baekhyun was walking to the car with his mother; Chanyeol was mowing his lawn and happened to look up at the exact moment Baekhyun looked over. Baekhyun nearly ran to the car and frantically pulled at the handle until his mother unlocked the door.

He misses Chanyeol a lot, if he’s being honest, but he can’t even look at him, there’s no way he’d be able to sit at his house and actually speak to him.

Nearly two weeks later, Baekhyun is laying on the pool floaty, sighing periodically as he replays his and Jongin’s breakup over in his head. Jongin had looked so crushed just before he exited Baekhyun’s room, and he can’t understand why. Surely Jongin didn’t think they’d make it through a long-distance relationship, especially not when he would be off having fun on a college campus.

He hates that the sun feels so nice on his skin. He hates that it’s the perfect temperature outside today. He hates that his mother keeps bringing him snacks and drinks, and treating him gently like he may fall apart at any second.

Most of all, he hates that the only thing he’s upset with is how relieved he feels to not be dating Jongin any longer.

Baekhyun rips his sunglasses off his face and tosses them in frustration. This shouldn’t have to be so complicated, and he shouldn’t have to feel so terrible over this. It was just a stupid high school relationship.

A familiar scent travels through the warm summer breeze to Baekhyun’s nose and he thinks he must be going crazy. He situates himself more comfortably on the floaty and covers his eyes with his forearm.

“Hey.”

Baekhyun’s entire body jolts and he falls into the water when he tries to quickly sit up. For a moment he wonders how long he can hold his breath, maybe if he can stay submerged long enough, he’ll go away and Baekhyun can avoid this whole horrible interaction. He knows that plan won’t work, and he also knows he needs to just suck it up and face this, so he surfaces and swims to the ladder to climb out of the pool.

“Jongin, um, what are you doing here?” He keeps a fair distance between them and keeps the eye contact to a minimum.

“I’m sorry, your mom said you were back here.” He wraps one arm around himself as he looks anywhere but at Baekhyun. “I just wanted to talk,” he shrugs, “I don’t like how we left things off.”

Even this nervous, Jongin looks as handsome as ever. “I tried texting you like a million times,” he says, “you never responded.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jongin looks at the grass, “I got really petty and bitter when I went home that night and blocked your number. I’m sorry.”

That admission amuses Baekhyun. “Don’t apologize, I would have done the same thing.” Jongin looks up and they smile at each other.

Kyungsoo would be disappointed in him. Sehun would probably give him a high five, if that were something Sehun ever did.

He doesn’t know how it happened. They went inside to talk, like Jongin wanted, and the next thing Baekhyun knew, they were making out in his bed. Jongin started it, he thinks. Or, maybe it was him; his heat has been creeping up on him all week. Either way, it happened, it doesn’t matter who’s to blame.

Baekhyun’s brain begins working again though, at some point, and he pushes Jongin off of him. He wipes his mouth and scoots a few inches to his left, putting some space between them. He’d nearly forgotten how good of a kisser Jongin is, and he’s grateful for the reminder, but he knows this can’t happen.

“I’m sorry,” Jongin mumbles. “I swear that’s not what I came over here for.”

So it was Jongin who started it. Baekhyun shakes his head, “It’s fine. Not like I didn’t enjoy it anyway.”

They gaze at each other for a moment, and then they’re kissing again, and then Baekhyun is crawling into Jongin’s lap. Jongin’s shirt comes off and then hands roam, then pants come off and hands roam some more. Baekhyun moans because Jongin knows exactly what he likes and he seems to be getting straight to the point.

But once again, Baekhyun’s one braincell tells him to stop.

“Jong-Jongin,” he pulls the hand off of his dick and takes a deep breath, reasoning with himself that this is the right thing to do. “We can’t do this.”

“Yeah,” Jongin says, looking down.

“God, you smell so good.” Baekhyun kisses Jongin hard again but pulls away with a groan, annoyed with his lack of self-control. “No. No, okay. Let’s actually talk, that’s what you came over for.”

So they talk.

Jongin tells Baekhyun how shocked and angry he was that day, how it hurt that Baekhyun just assumed he was going to break up with him before moving away. He tells Baekhyun how he spent a week convincing himself that he hated him and that he didn’t want to be friends with him, even if that’s what Baekhyun wanted. And then, he tells Baekhyun that he realizes he was right; he’s leaving for college and doesn’t know how often he’ll be able to visit. That’s not fair to Baekhyun, he deserves more than a Skype relationship.

The last thing Jongin admits is that he could tell Baekhyun was losing interest in the relationship; he just hoped it was a fleeting thing, so he ignored it. Baekhyun apologizes for being the worst person ever and Jongin just laughs and reassures him that he's far from it.

So, the break up becomes a mutual decision.

And so does the sex they have immediately after the conversation dwindles. Baekhyun lies in his bed beside Jongin after and laughs to himself; Sehun was right, after all, he really is just in it for the sex.

“Hungry?”

Baekhyun turns his head slowly; Jongin’s just said the magic word. “Let’s get dressed.”

Jongin gets out of bed first and Baekhyun watches him collect his clothes with a lazy smile. So, maybe they weren’t meant to be in a relationship, but Baekhyun is happy they can still be friends. Especially if the friendship continues to includes sex.

Baekhyun stands to get dressed and Jongin comes up behind him to slap his ass. Sehun’s going to be so impressed when he calls him tonight.

When his mother tells him that Kyungsoo is coming home, Baekhyun’s brain sends him through a rapid-fire burst of emotions. He’s confused that Kyungsoo didn’t tell him himself; then he’s angry Kyungsoo didn’t tell him. He’s excited to see his brother, but his mother promised Kyungsoo she wouldn’t tell Baekhyun what day he’ll be home. Kyungsoo knows Baekhyun hates surprises.

So for the next week Baekhyun is suspicious and vigilant, and he pays more attention to what his mother is doing. He knows that, upon the day of Kyungsoo’s arrival, she’ll spend a little extra time cleaning up around the house.

Unfortunately for him, she’s busier than usual with work, so Baekhyun is left completely in the dark. And he hates it.

He’s sitting on Jongin’s lap in the living room when the sound of a car door slamming has him springing up and running for the front door, leaving his confused friend behind. He throws the door open and bolts out, down the stairs and the walkway. He charges forward, tackling his brother into the side of his car. Kyungsoo lets out a strained grunt, but smiles because Baekhyun is purring violently.

“I missed you so much!” Baekhyun shouts, rubbing his cheek all over Kyungsoo’s face.

“Oh my god”, Kyungsoo releases Baekhyun from the hug and pushes him back to inspect him with a scowl, “why are you taller than me?”

“I told you I got taller but you didn’t believe me!”

The front door opens and closes and Baekhyun flashes his brother a bright smile as Jongin approaches them.

“Nice to meet you,” Jongin says, taking Kyungsoo’s hand.

“Yeah, I’ve heard an annoying amount of information about you,” he says with a terrifying smile. “You’re the one who defiled my baby brother.”

Kyungsoo squeezes Jongin’s hand hard and Jongin laughs nervously, giving Baekhyun a scared look when Kyungsoo lets go and begins taking his things into the house. Baekhyun can only grin and mouth an apology.

It’s been two years since Kyungsoo was last home; his job leaves him next to no free time, so he hasn’t had the chance to visit. Baekhyun stays glued to his side every day for his first week back, happy to be with his brother again after so long.

There’s a lot of catching up to do between them, mostly the epic tales of Baekhyun’s first half of high school. Kyungsoo knows of Minseok and Sehun, but he’s never seen them; when Baekhyun tells him about making out with Sehun, then shows Kyungsoo a picture of him, he’s impressed.

“Well look at you,” Kyungsoo teases, still scrolling through Sehun’s Instagram feed on Baekhyun’s phone, “getting all the handsome boys.”

Baekhyun snatches his phone away, unappreciative of his brother’s compliment.

“I’m going over Chanyeol’s later,” Kyungsoo says, “you wanna go with me?”

“No!” Baekhyun says quickly, eyes wide. He doesn’t look at his brother; he knows his face would betray him.

Kyungsoo sits back on the couch and narrows his eyes. “Alright, what did you do?”

Baekhyun throws himself into the back of the couch and sighs for a very long time. “Do we have to talk about it? I’m trying to erase it from my memory.”

“Come on, it can’t be that bad.”

Baekhyun gives his brother a viscous scowl.

Five minutes later, Kyungsoo is howling with laughter, arms wrapped around himself as tears stream down his cheeks. Who knew the most embarrassing moment of his little brother’s life would be the funniest story he’s ever heard?

“I-I— Hang on, hang on.” One hand is waving between Baekhyun and himself while the other wipes his tears away as tries his best to stop laughing. “You—” He lets out a few breathy laughs, still unable to contain himself. “Oh my god. I feel bad for you, I really—” He snorts; his voice is coming out at a higher pitch from the strain of talking through laughter. “I really do,” he sounds like he’s crying. “But it’s so funny.” Kyungsoo clears his throat and straightens up, finally finished laughing in Baekhyun’s face. “I’m very sorry that happened to you.”

“Thanks,” Baekhyun deadpans. “I can really feel the sincerity.”

“Did you learn your lesson at least?”

Baekhyun glares. “Yeah, duh. I kept sex in my room after that.”

Kyungsoo pretends to gag. “Stop, I don’t wanna hear that.”

“Do you think that one time was the only time?”

“I’d like to think so, yes,” Kyungsoo nods, then sighs. “You’re so grown up now. I feel like I missed so much while I was gone.”

Baekhyun stares at Kyungsoo, touched by the sentiment. “Is it bad that Jongin and I still have sex even though we broke up?”

The question takes Kyungsoo completely off guard, but he can only stare at his brother in amazement. “I was wondering why he still hangs out with you after you crushed his heart.” Kyungsoo grimaces. “I’m grossed out and impressed at the same time. Does mom know her baby boy is a little minx?”

“Oh, she knows. And she’s given me the sex talk two times. Once by myself and the other time with Jongin sitting next to me.”

“That’s rough,” Kyungsoo sympathizes. “If it makes you feel any better, mom gave me the sex talk when I was thirteen because she walked in on me masturbating.”

“Yikes.”

“Yeah, yikes is right.”


	14. Chapter 14

On the last day of August, Jongin stays over until late into the night, rounding on the early morning. He eats dinner with Baekhyun and his mother and they all sit together in the living room while Baekhyun’s mother questions Jongin about his degree path and what he plans to do after college.

It’s nice and all, but Baekhyun’s heat is edging on him and all he can think, as he watches Jongin’s lush lips speak, is how much he’d rather be naked in his bed with him. His mother can tell, maybe not about the sex specifically, but she can see that her son wants to spend some time alone with Jongin before he has to leave. So with a polite smile, she waves them off to his bedroom.

Jongin sits on Baekhyun’s bed and continues the conversation they were having with his mother, only until Baekhyun seats himself on Jongin’s lap and hangs his arms over his shoulders.

“As much as I love talking about you moving away,” he kisses Jongin’s lips, “I’m like one day out from the peak of my heat and you smell so good it’s killing me.”

Jongin hums pleasantly against Baekhyun’s lips and he digs his fingers into Baekhyun’s waist. He leans back and grins, “I can tell when you’re in heat, you know.”

“Really?” Baekhyun asks, curious and breathless; Jongin is kissing his neck now. “How?”

“Your pretty brown eyes get a few shades lighter.” He takes Baekhyun’s lips again and moves them to lie down, then climbs on top of the little cat. He pins Baekhyun’s wrists to the bed and smiles down at him. “I’m gonna miss you.”

Baekhyun sits up, holding his weight with his elbows behind him. “I’m gonna miss you too,” he says softly, then he smiles because Jongin is staring at him silently, like there’s something more he wants to say. “What?” he questions with a curious tilt of his head.

“I love you, Baekhyun.”

“Oh.” That’s not the something Baekhyun was expecting. He’s never been this caught off guard, so he just stares dumbly up at Jongin, heart beat pounding in his ears. “Um—”

Jongin sits back on his knees and sucks his bottom lip into his mouth. “I’m not like— I’m not in love with you, not like that. I just— I didn’t want to leave without you knowing that you’re really important to me.”

Baekhyun sits up further and folds his legs in front of himself, placing his hands in the small space it creates. “Jongin, I-I don’t know what to say.”

“Nothing!” Jongin rushes out. He smiles, though it’s strained. “You don’t have to say anything. I didn’t say that to make you say it back.” His mouth twitches for a tense moment. “I just wanted you to know.”

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun whispers, not entirely sure what he’s apologizing for.

Jongin deflates and moves to sit beside Baekhyun at the head of the bed. He leans back and tips his head so that it rests against Baekhyun’s shoulder. He gives Baekhyun’s thigh a squeeze just above the knee and looks over at him with a little grin.

“After I move away, you have to let me know when you and Chanyeol finally get together.”

Baekhyun frowns in confusion; a sudden flashback of Minseok telling him the exact same thing before he moved away crosses his mind. “Wha-what are you talking about?”

Jongin rolls his eyes in Baekhyun’s face and chuckles silently. “Oh please, don’t play dumb. Even when I thought you still liked me I could tell you were just waiting for Chanyeol to sweep you off your feet.”

“I-I…that’s not true.” He takes Jongin’s hand and plays with his knuckles. A small defeated smile slowly forms on his face and he drops Jongin’s hand onto his lap. “Was it really that obvious?”

“Oh yeah,” Jongin leans back and purses his lips, “I really was a much better boyfriend than you were.”

Baekhyun’s jaw drops in offense but Jongin just smiles. “Kidding. Just kidding.” He puts his head back on Baekhyun and lets out a content sigh. “I really am gonna miss you though.”

“I know,” Baekhyun says, “me too.”

Baekhyun doesn’t cry when they say goodbye in the doorway, Jongin standing with his keys in one hand and Baekhyun’s hand in the other. They make plans for Baekhyun to come visit once Jongin is situated, and a promise to keep in touch. Then Jongin is walking to his car and Baekhyun is watching with a lump in his throat.

People leaving seems to be a recurring theme in Baekhyun’s life.

The alarm wakes Baekhyun. He blindly slaps at his phone until the sound stops, and he sits up with a slow, piteous groan. His mouth is dry and there’s crust around his eyes, and he feels like he was hit by a bus. His mother knows better than to ask him if he’s okay at breakfast that morning. She just makes pancakes and leaves him to be a grumpy teenager in peace before he makes his way to school; he’s begun walking now.

Eleventh grade has treated him well so far. He may not have any friends in school, and he still doesn’t speak to Chanyeol, and he may go straight home every weekday and sit alone in his room, but other than that, his year is…as good as it can be.

There was one day, sometime mid-October where he thought he was making a new friend. A cute girl with short red hair; she came to sit across from him at his empty lunch table and flashed him a smile lined with braces. Turns out, she only wanted to ask if she could touch his ears. He declined her request with a pointed glare.

Then, on Halloween, a kid he’s never seen before ran up behind him and tugged on one of his cat ears, thinking they were a headband instead of connected to his head. That was the only time Baekhyun has ever thought about hitting another person to cause pain.

His only saving grace for the year is when Kyungsoo calls at the beginning of December with big news. He’s going to be coming home for Christmas and he’s bringing his boyfriend with him. Baekhyun shrieks on the phone, excited to see his brother, and even more excited to meet his mystery man. He just knows he’ll be handsome because Kyungsoo has good taste; he did like Chanyeol at one point after all.

Immediately upon hanging up with Kyungsoo, Baekhyun runs down the hall to tell his mother the great news. He’s unsure if it’s the scent or the sound that hits him first, but he comes to a screeching halt just before the doorway into the kitchen.

He’s been thinking about speaking to Chanyeol again recently; it’s been months and he desperately misses him, but he wasn’t planning on running into him unexpectedly in his own home. He gives himself a little pep talk and enters the kitchen.

Chanyeol has always been hot, that much is obvious. But this Chanyeol, the one sitting at the table across from his mother with messy, newly bright red hair, is on an entirely new level of hot that Baekhyun doesn’t think should be allowed to exist in the world. He doesn’t think his legs will move him any further into the kitchen.

In addition to not speaking to Chanyeol in months, Baekhyun hasn’t seen him; he’s been careful to avoid another run in like the time in the front yard. So this change in his appearance takes Baekhyun by surprise, and all of his self-control is focused on keeping his jaw, and knees, from hitting the floor. He has no control, however, over his self-lubrication, which he can feel dripping from him with an alarming intensity. He wants to crawl across the floor and nestle himself between Chanyeol’s legs, and then have him fuck him on the kitchen table. His body is on fire; how is it possible for his heat to start so suddenly and without warning like this?

“Excuse me,” Baekhyun squeaks out before turning on his heel and rushing out of the room with wide, horrified eyes.

He locks himself in his bedroom and searches frantically for the toy Jongin had left him as a going away present. It’s nothing special, Jongin had told him, just a purple silicon dildo the same length as Jongin’s dick. ‘Something to help you through your heat’, Baekhyun recalls him saying. He rolled his eyes at the sentiment then, but it’s very appreciated in the current circumstance.

He hasn’t used it since Jongin left, so it’s still in the packaging when he finds it stuffed into the back of the bottom drawer of his dresser. He tears the box apart and rushes over to his bed as he impatiently tugs his sweats down his legs enough to expose his ass.

He moves quickly, worried that his mother, or worse, Chanyeol, will come knocking to see why he’d run out of the kitchen in a panic. He knows this will be quick, embarrassingly so. He likely could have come if he would have stood in the kitchen looking at Chanyeol for five more seconds, so shoving this Jongin sized toy inside himself should do the trick in a flash.

And so it does. He thrusts the toy a total of three times, but what really does it for him is his imagination, which is running wild thinking of Chanyeol being inside of him instead of soft purple silicone. He’s on his knees with his face pressed into his pillow, so his explosive moan is mostly muffled when he comes onto his sheets.

It takes a moment for his legs to stop shaking enough for him to get up off the bed and retrieve his pants, which he slips on quickly before shuffling quietly to the bathroom, leaving his purple dildo hidden, wrapped somewhere within his blankets. He cleans himself up some. Fixes his hair, washes his hands, and stares at himself in the mirror for a long time, until he feels he’s cooled down enough to return to the kitchen.

Chanyeol greets him first with a small smile, and then his mother turns to him. He clears his throat from the doorway. “My…phone was ringing,” he says as an excuse before walking slowly toward the table.

“Long time no see,” Chanyeol says as Baekhyun sits across from him.

“Chanyeol came over to give me some Christmas cookies he baked,” his mother says, pointing to a festive tin sitting on the table.

“Cool,” he says to his mother instead of Chanyeol; he hasn’t thought about it in months, but sitting in front of Chanyeol now, all he can think of is his shocked face when he saw him and Jongin outside on the lounge chair. He’s also so unbearably hot now, it would be hard to look at him even if that never happened.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol says, “I also wanted to see if you wanna come over. It’s been a long time since we last hung out.”

Baekhyun makes eye contact with him for the first time and nods before he can stop himself. This seems to make Chanyeol happy though, because he smiles wide and immediately gets to his feet.

“You mean right now?” Baekhyun asks stupidly as Chanyeol slips into his coat. “Okay. Okay, yeah, let’s go.”

Baekhyun imagines this hang out remaining mostly silent. He figures they’ll play a video game, or watch something, and not talk to each other about what happened, or anything at all. He hopes, no, he prays that’s how this will play out as he trudges along behind Chanyeol on the walk over to his house. It feels like a walk of shame and he isn’t looking forward to whatever is going to happen when he plants himself on Chanyeol’s couch.

He barely gets one shoe off before Chanyeol speaks.

“So, I think we can agree we need to talk about what happened.”

Baekhyun stops untying his shoe and looks up to blink at Chanyeol. He waits to speak until he looks down again to finish dealing with his shoe. “Uh, I don’t think we really need to do that.”

Chanyeol is giving him that look again, the one his mother gives him when he’s being unreasonable, and Baekhyun sighs.

“Fine,” he grumbles. “Fine, let’s have this super awkward conversation.” He drops down onto the middle couch cushion and crosses his arms and legs, wondering if it’s possible to force himself to spontaneously combust. He tries. He can’t.

“So, um,” Chanyeol sits in the chair to give Baekhyun space, but leans toward him, “I just wanna start off by saying I like, honestly, didn’t mean to walk in on that.”

“Really?” Baekhyun asks, sarcasm obvious in his voice. “I thought you enjoyed watching teenagers have sex.”

“Baek, I’m trying to be serious.”

Baekhyun sighs and softens his expression. “Okay. Alright, I’m sorry.” He looks at Chanyeol; his eyebrows are pulled into a worried frown. “So I want you to know that’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. But like, I know you weren’t trying to creep on us. You’re not like that.”

“I also want you to know I wasn’t just standing there watching, even though it seemed like it at the time. I was just so shocked my legs wouldn’t move. I heard you guys swimming and was like hell yeah, I’ll go swim too. And then, yeah…I saw that and froze in panic.”

Baekhyun thinks back to standing in the doorway to his kitchen gawking at Chanyeol’s red hair; he can relate to that. He smirks.

“You know what you have to do right? To make things even between us.” Chanyeol’s eyebrows raise in intrigue. “You gotta let me see you naked.”

“I-I— uh,” Chanyeol presses his lips into a thin line and tips his head left and right as he thinks. “Um,” he scratches at his jaw and hums, at a loss for words. “If um— y-you,” he sighs, looking like his brain is seconds from shutting down.

“Yeol,” Baekhyun chuckles, “I’m just kidding.” He relaxes now, knowing he’s thoroughly freaked Chanyeol out. He leans back into the couch and kicks his feet up onto the coffee table, and for some reason, a reason that he will never know, he says, “I’ve already seen you naked anyway.”

Chanyeol’s head whips up. Baekhyun’s eyes bulge as he sits forward; his mouth forms a little ‘o’ and he holds his hands up in front of him in a defensive gesture.

“You what now?” Chanyeol questions, leaning forward with narrowed eyes, inches from Baekhyun’s face.

Baekhyun laughs, fake and sheepish. “It’s a funny story, really. I bet you’ll laugh.”

Chanyeol’s nostrils flare, “Try me.”

And so, Baekhyun exposes himself for the freaky little pervert he truly is, withholding certain incriminating details. He doesn’t outright lie, but the story he tells Chanyeol is vastly different than the full truth. He spins the story as a one-time accident, which isn’t entirely false; it wasn’t an accident that he was peeping into Chanyeol’s bedroom window, but it was just the one time he’d seen him naked. He also purposely leaves out the whole masturbation aspect of things; that’s something Chanyeol doesn’t need to know.

“You’re lying,” Chanyeol accuses. “I can tell when you’re lying.”

“I’m not lying!” Baekhyun insists, “I only ever saw you naked once, I swear.” He crosses his arms and mimics Chanyeol’s accusatory gaze. “And, there’s no way you can tell when I’m lying.”

Chanyeol leans so close Baekhyun can feel his exhales against his skin; he narrows his eyes further, trying to intimidate Baekhyun.

Baekhyun flinches when Chanyeol pokes at his pointed ear. “Your ears lean away from each other when you’re lying,” he says, making the motion with his own hands hovering above his head. “I noticed it after you had to keep lying to your mom about why you were always late going home on school nights.”

“That—” Baekhyun surrenders and pouts. “That’s not fair.”

Chanyeol grins; he looks so good with that messy red hair and cocky expression. “So tell me, Baekhyunnie, just how many times have you seen me naked?”

“Just once, really! I promise.” He watches Chanyeol watch his ears. “I know I shouldn’t have kept looking, but like, can you blame me? But that’s the only time I’ve ever watched you!”

“Liar!” Chanyeol shouts in amusement, pointing a finger in Baekhyun’s face.

Baekhyun grunts and flattens his ears with his hands. “Okay, so I saw you naked once. At least I didn’t literally watch you lose your virginity.”

“I—” Chanyeol leans back and sucks in a quick, sharp breath through his teeth. “Oh, low blow.”

“Yeah, pervert,” Baekhyun sneers.

They stare at each other in a silent standoff for a moment, each waiting for the other to speak first. Baekhyun knows he looks far from intimidating, but he’s trying his best to meet Chanyeol’s intensity.

“Why did you run away when you saw me earlier?” He cuts Baekhyun off as soon as his mouth opens. “And remember, I can tell when you’re lying.”

Baekhyun is still holding his ears down. “You want the truth?” Chanyeol nods slowly, keeping his eyes on Baekhyun. “I don’t think you want to hear it.”

“Yes, I sure do.”

They’re glaring at each other at this point, neither willing to back down.

“Fine,” Baekhyun snaps; he uncovers his ears and leans into Chanyeol’s personal space with his lip curled in determination. He’s going to win this battle. “I walked into the kitchen and you looked so hot with red hair my heat started prematurely and I went to my room to masturbate.” He crosses his arms and purses his lips, one eyebrow raised high. “Honest enough for you?” Chanyeol doesn’t say anything for a long time and Baekhyun worries he may have went too far. “I’m sorry.”

Chanyeol’s mouth hangs open for a moment, and then he begins to chuckle in disbelief. “Holy shit, I was not prepared for that.” He stares off into the distance for a moment, and when he speaks again, it’s to the wall beside the television. “I was not ready.”

Baekhyun leans back, resuming his relaxed, triumphant pose with his feet up on the table. “You wanted me to be honest,” he shrugs. “Happy now?”

“I don’t know how to process that information,” Chanyeol answers, unable to meet Baekhyun’s eyes now. “I think I’ll tuck it away somewhere deep down and never think about it again for the rest of my life.”

“Good idea,” Baekhyun agrees. “Can we just do that with everything we’ve talked about today?”

Chanyeol nods rapidly, “Absolutely. Let’s play a game and not talk to each other for the rest of the day.”

“I’d love to.”

Baekhyun is happy to have things back to normal with Chanyeol. They successfully pretend that the weird things that have happened between them never did, and their friendship easily picks back up. He’s at Chanyeol’s house watching and complaining about a predictable Hallmark Christmas movie when Kyungsoo gets home.

Kyungsoo smiles when Baekhyun comes running at him, as usual, and braces himself so he won’t be tackled to the ground. Chanyeol exits the house much slower, with less excitement, and gives Kyungsoo a polite greeting.

“I see you two made up,” Kyungsoo teases when he realizes they were hanging out at Chanyeol’s house.

The boyfriend steps out of the car and Baekhyun gasps; he’d almost forgotten about him.

“Oh,” Baekhyun says happily, “you can’t be Kyungsoo’s boyfriend, you’re too handsome.”

“Haha,” Kyungsoo jeers, unamused with his brother’s antics, “you’re so funny.” He grabs Baekhyun by the back of the neck and turns him to face the house; he leans in close to whisper. “If you can’t behave this will be the last time I come home for any holiday.”

Chanyeol happens to overhear and can’t help but chuckle; it’s unlikely Baekhyun knows how to behave.

Kyungsoo finishes threatening his brother and then turns back to his boyfriend with a bright smile. “Baekhyun, this is Yixing. Yixing, my baby brother.” Kyungsoo chuckles, “And this is the neighbor…Chanyeol.” He says his name quickly, while looking anywhere but at Chanyeol.

Yixing grins and takes Chanyeol’s hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you,” he says with a slight upturn of his lip. “Only good things, of course.” They all watch Yixing give Chanyeol a onceover, and then he’s being quickly swept away by Kyungsoo to go meet his mother.

Baekhyun turns to Chanyeol with a wide-mouthed, awed smile. “He knows!” he shouts, pointing his fingers in Chanyeol’s face.

Chanyeol sighs and gives Baekhyun’s shoulder a squeeze. “I don’t know what it is with you and your brother and your inability to keep things to yourself.”

Baekhyun scrunches his nose up at Chanyeol, “This is about the masturbating thing isn’t it?”

“You—” Chanyeol grunts and wraps an arm around Baekhyun’s head from behind to cover his mouth. “We are not supposed to speak of that. It never happened, remember?” Baekhyun nods, but Chanyeol doesn’t release him. “Wow, it’s so peaceful when you can’t talk. Hey!” Chanyeol wipes his hand on Baekhyun’s shirt. “Don’t lick me. Nasty.”

Baekhyun sticks his tongue out. “I do what I want.” He sticks his nose in the air and struts up his porch steps, but stops just before opening the door. He turns with one hand on the doorframe, giving Chanyeol a sultry look over his shoulder. “Eat your heart out.” And with that, he enters the house.

Chanyeol stands at the sidewalk, mouth hanging open in a wide, amused smirk. He shakes his head, laughing quietly. What an odd little cat.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, oh boy. This is one of my favorite chapters of this whole fic. The ending part is...wooo, it's a lot. Little bit of everything happens in this one!

Yixing is the type of gentleman that holds doors and pulls out chairs. He has a gentle, respectful personality and the dimpled smile of an angel, and Baekhyun could sit and listen to his accented voice tell him stories about growing up on a farm in rural China for hours. Their mother takes to him immediately because she’s a sucker for anyone that comes bearing chocolates for her, and boys that look at her son like he’s the only person in the room.

He comes equipped with every attribute of a great older brother; no offense to Kyungsoo. But, Yixing makes everyone a killer peppermint hot chocolate after dinner on his first night in the house, and Baekhyun is fully ready to write Kyungsoo off and take Yixing in his place.

Even watching movies on the couch is better with Yixing around. He allows Baekhyun to sit between them, head resting on Kyungsoo’s lap while he nestles his toes under Yixing’s thighs for warmth. It’s comfortable and relaxing, and the last thing Baekhyun remembers before falling asleep is Kyungsoo beginning to give his scalp gentle scratches between his ears.

He wakes with a jolt, now turned on his stomach, face smashed against Kyungsoo’s leg. Instinct rips a moan from him and he flips himself over and crawls back so that he can curl himself up on Kyungsoo’s lap, glaring at a startled Yixing.

Kyungsoo looks just as horrified, though his arms are wrapped around Baekhyun in a protective way.

“Why did you do that?” Baekhyun asks, eyes wide and ears back. “Why did you touch my tail?”

Poor, sweet Yixing is terribly confused, staring at the two brothers stacked together at the opposite end of the couch. He’d only reached out to pat at the base of Baekhyun’s tail because the sleeping cat was waving it in his face and Yixing thought it might make him stop. He didn’t think it was going to cause a problem; he just wanted to be able to see the television.

“I’m sorry, I was— I just—” He watches Baekhyun curl further into Kyungsoo which, if it weren’t for the current tension, would be a funny sight to see because Baekhyun is so much bigger. “Your tail was waving in my face, I was trying to— I couldn’t see the TV.”

Baekhyun isn’t angry at Yixing, there’s no way he could have known. But that doesn’t change the fact that it happened and that it caused him to moan while lying on his brother’s legs, and that made him extremely uncomfortable.

“I’m gonna go see if Chanyeol is home,” Baekhyun says, and then he crawls off of Kyungsoo’s lap, slips his shoes on, and slinks silently out of the house.

Chanyeol is confused when he opens the door and sees Baekhyun standing on his porch looking slightly off-put and disheveled. He steps back and watches Baekhyun cross the living room to toss himself full-length across the couch, face down. Chanyeol takes a moment to stand by the door and grin at the clearly distressed cat.

“Everything okay?”

Baekhyun rolls over and sits up and waits for Chanyeol to sit before speaking. “Kyungsoo’s new boyfriend grabbed my tail.”

Chanyeol sits forward quickly and frowns. “He did what?”

Baekhyun appreciates the anger; Chanyeol looks hot when he’s concerned but it doesn’t happen often because he’s so naturally cheerful and carefree. Baekhyun’s almost sad to have to set things straight.

“It wasn’t like that,” Baekhyun says, “he didn’t know it would freak me out.”

Chanyeol sits back now and lets out a quick, shallow breath, “He’s lucky.”

That makes Baekhyun smirk. He leans over the arm of the couch on his knees so he can more properly sneer in Chanyeol’s face. “Why’s he lucky, Chanyeol? Were you gonna beat him up for me?”

Chanyeol crosses his arms and scoffs, looking away from Baekhyun. “Maybe,” he admits. “I told you before I’d beat someone up for you. Kyungsoo’s little boyfriend is no exception.”

Baekhyun’s tail wags excitedly like a dog’s as he howls with laughter. Chanyeol couldn’t, wouldn’t hurt a fly, let alone ever beat up another human. But, the more he thinks about it, he’d love to see it. Come to think of it, he’d love to see Chanyeol do just about anything, so long as he takes his shirt off.

Chanyeol leans forward, hovering inches from Baekhyun’s face, and narrows his eyes. “Stop thinking about me without my shirt on, pervert cat.”

Baekhyun flings himself back and sputters. “How do you do that?”

Chanyeol laughs, and then Baekhyun joins in, and then it’s four hours later and they’ve played through most of a Zelda game and fallen asleep in the living room with the sweet sounds of The Office reruns playing from the television.

Baekhyun snorts when he’s woken up by Chanyeol’s long arm stretching out, hand slapping him in the face. He pushes Chanyeol’s arm away from him and sits up so that he can rub his eyes and fully wrap his head around just where he’s waking up. To his left, Chanyeol is passed out lying sideways in his armchair, head hanging off of one side, and long legs over the other. His mouth is hanging open wide letting out soft nasally snores. It’s cute, so so cute.

“Yeol,” Baekhyun mumbles, giving him a few light slaps to the chest. “Yeol, wake up.”

Chanyeol sits up, red hair a mess, only one eye open. “What? Who is it?”

“Go to your bed, I’m gonna go home.”

“No, I’ll walk you,” Chanyeol murmurs, barely conscious. Baekhyun objects, but Chanyeol insists with a grunt. He stands, keeping his eyes closed as he puts an arm over Baekhyun’s shoulder and begins ushering him toward the door. He falls asleep again for a moment while Baekhyun steps into his shoes.

Baekhyun has to help him down his porch steps, a difficult feat with Chanyeol’s weight weighing heavy on his shoulders. But, they make it down and begin the short walk next door.

Once on Baekhyun’s porch he fiddles with the doorknob in the dark and Chanyeol chuckles; Baekhyun speculates that he’s half asleep. Maybe he should walk Chanyeol back to his house to make sure he gets back safe.

“Goodnight Baek,” Chanyeol mumbles. He takes a deep breath through his nose and turns with a sleepy grin, then he presses a quick, feather-light kiss to Baekhyun’s cheek.

Baekhyun gasps and rushes inside, no longer worried about Chanyeol making it home safely; he’s a grown man, he’ll be fine. He slams the door in Chanyeol’s face and falls back into it. Did that really just happen?

The hours tick by slowly as Baekhyun tosses and turns in his bed. Chanyeol kissed his cheek. Why did he do that? There has to be a reason behind it. Maybe he was just half asleep in a weird dream state, thinking Baekhyun was someone else. But he did say his name seconds before kissing him.

Baekhyun grunts and rolls over, then pulls his blankets up to his chin. He’s pouting, but it’s angry. Why did his mother or Kyungsoo never warn him his teenage years would be so detrimental to his sanity?

The only good thing about not sleeping at all is that when his mother inevitably wakes before the sun rises, he’s already up so he can go share morning coffee with her. She’s shocked to see him in the kitchen, but happy nonetheless. So she pours him his own cup of coffee and places it in front of him as she pulls out a chair to sit.

“You’re never awake this early,” she acknowledges, “have a rough night?”

Baekhyun stares at her from behind his mug, suddenly hating having a psychologist for a mother. Most parents don’t know or care about what’s going on in their child’s life, but she’s so intuitive it’s scary.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” he says with a childlike pout.

His mother sets her cup down with a sigh and gives him that look. The therapist look, the one that says she knows he has something he wants to talk about.

So Baekhyun gives in with a sigh. “Mom, Chanyeol kissed me last night and I don’t know why.”

She gives her son a tight-lipped smile and nods, letting him know she’s heard his issue. “Well, sweetie, I warned you about this.”

Baekhyun didn’t expect an answer like that. He thought he’d get more of a signature therapist ‘And how does that make you feel’ answer. But, this is his mother, not a therapist, so he accepts it for what it is.

“It was just on the cheek,” he defends, “not like, my lips or anything. And, he was half-asleep when it happened. I don’t think it meant anything, but—”

“Baek,” she interrupts, “Baek, sweetie. You don’t have to defend yourself to me. I’m sure Chanyeol didn’t mean anything by it, like you said, he was half-asleep.”

Baekhyun is relieved; he was terrified that his mother would be angry about this. He studies her facial expression, trying to find answers in her eyes but finds none. She has a wicked poker face.

“You need to talk about it with him.” She watches her son make a displeased face and groan. “I know you don’t want to, but you have to.”

Baekhyun agrees with a nod, knowing he never intends to have that conversation with Chanyeol.

Christmas comes and goes. Baekhyun gets a few cool gifts and gives Kyungsoo the book he’d bought for him with his mother’s money. Yixing surprises him with a present and Baekhyun apologizes for not getting him anything. He does, however, have a gift for Chanyeol, just a shirt of a band he likes, but the neighbor has gone to his parent’s for the week to spend the holiday with them. He’ll be back on New Year’s Eve, though, so Baekhyun will give it to him then.

The time between holidays drags by in a calm, wintery lull. Baekhyun spends his days inserting himself into Kyungsoo and Yixing’s conversations and activities, and eating unhealthy amounts of leftover baked goods given to them by family and friends. He worries his chubby kitten cheeks may make an unwanted return.

On New Year’s Eve, Baekhyun’s heart is broken by his brother for the second time. Kyungsoo and Yixing announce a last minute change of plans; they are now going out to a friend’s party for the night, leaving Baekhyun to ring in the new year alone with his mother like a loser. He makes sure to tell Kyungsoo he’s a jerk on his way out the door.

He takes a seat on the couch and slouches down into the poorest posture he can manage, settling in for the night. His mother can tell he’s in one of his moods, so she does her best to steer clear of him, other than to ask if he’d like anything to eat around dinner time. He’s getting ready to say yes when he gets a text from Chanyeol.

He’s stopped at a gas station on his way home from his parent’s house and wants to know if he’d like to hang out when he gets home. Baekhyun replies that yes, he obviously does, and then goes to the kitchen to ask his mother if it’s okay. She says yes and, when Chanyeol pulls up his driveway, Baekhyun kisses his mother’s cheek and bolts out the door.

“This tastes awful.”

Baekhyun fakes a gag, but takes another drink from the bottle of beer. It was Chanyeol’s idea, but he’d handed the bottle to Baekhyun with apprehension, only after making Baekhyun promise not to tell his mother he’d let him drink.

“It’s not that bad,” Chanyeol argues, sipping from his own bottle. He makes a face then clears his throat. “It gets better the more you drink.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

“Drinking is dangerous,” Chanyeol laughs at that like he’s speaking from personal experience, like there’s a story behind his words. If so, he doesn’t tell it to Baekhyun.

The minutes tick by quickly as they drink together. Chanyeol has a way of making Baekhyun feel like he’s not just a simple teenager. He asks for Baekhyun’s opinion on things, and actually listens to them. He doesn’t laugh when Baekhyun brings up petty high school issues, or if he’s struggling with homework. He genuinely appreciates Baekhyun’s friendship and treats him as an equal, and grabs a beer for Baekhyun every time he goes to get one for himself.

By 11pm Baekhyun is feeling good and feeling loose, and Chanyeol feels the same, so he puts on some music and they dance around like fools in the living room. Chanyeol gets up on his coffee table and gives Baekhyun a few poses on beat with the song, and Baekhyun loses it; he laughs so hard he doubles over and wheezes until he begins crying.

He’s never been drunk like this before. If he were at some crowded party it would be terrifying, but in the privacy of Chanyeol’s home, he knows he’s safe.

Chanyeol takes Baekhyun’s hand and pulls him up onto the table with him, holding him as if they were going to slow dance. He dips Baekhyun backward and gives him a devious grin before releasing him, letting him fall from the table onto the couch below. Baekhyun lands hard with a yelp and bounces, his beer sloshes over the lip of his bottle and spills on his shirt and jeans, but he laughs because Chanyeol does. He’s just so happy right now, not even beer-soaked clothes could ruin his mood.

Still, Chanyeol grabs Baekhyun a dry shirt from his closet and tosses it at his face. Baekhyun stands and tells Chanyeol to look away; he rolls his eyes, but turns his back while Baekhyun quickly pulls his jeans off and slips the shirt on.

“Why did you take your pants off too?” Chanyeol asks, trying not to laugh.

“This shirt is giant.” It’s a long shirt, falling mid-thigh on Baekhyun’s legs. He giggles as he holds his arms out and waves them around to show how loose the sleeves are hanging off of his tiny arms.

“You’re taller,” Chanyeol says, “but you’re still scrawny.” He laughs when Baekhyun attempts to look angry by balling his fists. “Look at your tiny little fists!” Baekhyun glares. Chanyeol roars with laughter. “Oh, I’m so scared. I’m so scared of this tiny baby kitten! Someone help!”

Baekhyun points a finger at Chanyeol and takes a moment to steady himself. “You,” he slurs, “are a mean person.” He sways in place for a moment. “A mean person with very cool red hair.”

His hiccup knocks him off balance and he sways, but luckily the couch is beside him so he can grab onto it. The second hiccup hits him harder and he decides to sit before he falls. He watches Chanyeol standing opposite him, just smiling pleasantly. It makes him smile too, for some reason, and his body feels warm, but that’s likely because of the alcohol. Chanyeol’s mouth moves; he’s probably talking but Baekhyun is too busy admiring his wonderful, beautiful face to hear him.

“Alright,” Chanyeol says as he approaches Baekhyun and pulls the half-full bottle from his hand, “I think you’ve had enough.” He takes the bottle to the sink and empties it, then sets it on the counter and returns to Baekhyun, who is now lying flat on his back with his feet up on the table. “I can’t let you go home, your mom would kill me,” Chanyeol sighs.

Baekhyun opens his mouth wide and sticks his tongue out, because that’s apparently how he shows excitement now. “Yay! Sleepover at Chanyeol’s!” He holds his arms out toward Chanyeol, eyes closed, but smiling. “I’m drunk, help me up.”

Chanyeol hoists Baekhyun up from under the arms and turns him around. He has to help the poor cat walk the short distance to his bedroom, one slow step at a time to ensure Baekhyun doesn’t bounce off any walls. He lowers Baekhyun onto the bed and pulls the covers up over him; he looks like a cute little kid with the blanket tucked up under his chin.

He walks around to the other side of the bed, wanting to grab a pillow to take to the couch with him, but Baekhyun grabs his wrist.

“The room is spinning.” He rolls onto his side and looks up at Chanyeol with a miserable pout. “Will you sit with me for a bit?”

Chanyeol nods and sits on the bed, suggesting Baekhyun lay on his stomach. He knows this is his fault; he should have never let Baekhyun drink with him. So now, this teenage cat is his responsibility, and he really doesn’t feel like having to wash puke off of his sheets in the morning.

A soft, pathetic whine comes from Baekhyun so Chanyeol decides to rub soothing circles along his back. That usually helps him when he’s had too much to drink.

“I just remembered,” Baekhyun mumbles into the pillow, “you kissed me on Christmas Eve.”

Chanyeol’s hand pauses. “What? No I didn’t.” He resumes rubbing, but he’s got a thoughtful frown, trying hard to figure out what Baekhyun is talking about.

“You did.” Baekhyun turns his head, mashing his face against the pillow. He presses his finger hard into his cheek. “Right here. I think you were really sleepy.”

“Oh,” he clears his throat and chews at his lip, “Well, I’m sorry.”

Baekhyun hums, enjoying the feeling of Chanyeol’s hand on his back. “Don’t be sorry,” he whispers, nearly asleep now. “Just kiss my lips next time.” He passes out with a smile on his face.

Baekhyun wakes in the morning with a dry mouth and a pounding headache. He’d kicked the covers off of himself in the middle of the night, so he’s a little cold as well. He opens one eye and grins when he sees Chanyeol sleeping next to him. He rolls onto his back and stretches his arms above his head, sighing at how good it feels. When his eyes open he nearly screams.

A very angry Kyungsoo is looming over him at the side of the bed, arms crossed, nostrils flared; there’s a fire in his eyes that puts an indescribable fear in Baekhyun. It wouldn’t be so bad, Baekhyun thinks, if he wasn’t wearing Chanyeol’s shirt and no pants. This is a very incriminating scene.

Without speaking, Kyungsoo stomps to the other side of the bed and begins giving Chanyeol’s shoulder violent slaps to wake him. As soon as his eyes open, Kyungsoo grips him up by the arm and drags him into the living room, leaving Baekhyun in the bed, frozen in shock.

“What were you thinking?” Kyungsoo shouts. “He is five years younger than you Chanyeol. Are you stupid? Are you a fucking pervert?”

Chanyeol’s sleepy brain is trying to catch up to what’s happening. He was dreaming about swimming in the ocean, and now he’s being yelled at. He’d accidentally fallen asleep rubbing Baekhyun’s back last night because he was worried he might throw up.

“Kyungsoo, I— It’s not—”

Kyungsoo notices the empty beers on the kitchen counter and clenches his jaw, then looks to where he knows Baekhyun is peeking through the cracked open bedroom door. “He got you drunk and took advantage of you?”

Baekhyun pulls the door open and begins to answer, but Kyungsoo suddenly pushes at Chanyeol’s chest, sending the taller stumbling backward.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Baekhyun speaks up now, walking further into the room. “Soo, it’s not like that! He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“He didn’t— Baek, you’re just a kid, you don’t understand.”

Baekhyun’s frown is angry. “I’m sick of being told I don’t understand things. I’m not a kid. And, Chanyeol didn’t do anything wrong. We had fun last night.”

Kyungsoo directs his disgusted sneer at Chanyeol as he nods his head. “Oh, well I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” He doesn’t give Chanyeol the opportunity to respond, he just cocks his arm back and punches him in the face, then he grabs Baekhyun by the arm, swipes his clothes off the living room floor, and drags him out of the house.

“You didn’t need to punch him.” Baekhyun is pouting, watching Kyungsoo pace back and forth in front of him. He’s seated on the couch beside Yixing, who looks confused and mildly terrified of Kyungsoo right now.

He ignores Baekhyun, lost within his own rage. “I can’t believe I ever slept with that pervert.”

“I used to peek into his window and touch myself while I watched him,” Baekhyun says. Kyungsoo stops pacing and gives his brother a dead-eyed stare. “So— So, if anyone’s the pervert here, it’s me. Not Chanyeol.”

Kyungsoo blinks, “Why would tell me that? Why would you ever tell me that?” He shakes the horrible image out of his head and continues pacing the length of the room.

“Soo, he really didn’t do any—”

“Baek, please,” Kyungsoo interrupts, “you just don’t—”

“Babe,” Yixing says, “he’s clearly very upset, why don’t you let him speak?”

Kyungsoo heaves a heavy sigh and nods. He sits on the table in front of Baekhyun and takes a few deep breaths to calm himself some.

Baekhyun gives Yixing a thankful nod. “Chanyeol let me drink with him last night, but whatever you think happened didn’t happen. I started to not feel good so he let me lay in his bed.” He reaches out to wrap his hand around Kyungsoo’s wrist, making his brother look up at him. “He was gonna sleep on the couch but I asked him to stay with me because I thought I was gonna throw up.”

“That doesn’t explain why you didn’t have any pants on.”

“I spilled my drink on myself. Yeol gave me this shirt to sleep in.”

“And he couldn’t give you any pants?” He asks, voice beginning to raise again.

“I don’t know, we were both drunk and this shirt is really long anyway. What does it matter? I told you nothing happened.”

Kyungsoo drags both hands over his face and through his hair and lets out a short, tense breath. “Fine.” He stares into his brother’s eyes, trying to determine if he’s being truthful. “Fine, I believe you.”

Baekhyun nods. “You should, Chanyeol really didn’t do anything wrong.” He purses his lips, “You should—”

“I’m not apologizing to him,” Kyungsoo interrupts, “he still deserved that punch for letting you drink.”


	16. Chapter 16

By the time Chanyeol’s black eye fades, Kyungsoo is already long gone. He doesn’t leave Chanyeol with an apology, but with a threat that he’s not afraid to hit him again if he ever finds him in bed with his baby brother. Chanyeol is newly terrified of the small man and agrees to never let it happen again. Baekhyun thinks it’s unfair, he liked sleeping next to Chanyeol; his bed is comfy.

So, Kyungsoo and Yixing leave, and school resumes the next week, brining monotonous normalcy back to Baekhyun’s life. He hates it. The school days feel hours longer than they are and, when he gets home, instead of going to hang out with Chanyeol like he wants, he has to do homework alone in his room.

In late spring, shortly after Baekhyun’s seventeenth birthday, which he spends with Chanyeol at the mall, his mother comes home from work with awful news. One of her patients owns a small sandwich shop near to their home and told her she is looking for a new employee, to which his mother so graciously offered up her son’s free time.

Baekhyun begs her for a full week to take it back, to call the woman and tell her he doesn’t want the job. But his mother thinks it will be good for him; it’ll get him out of the house and hopefully introduce him to people his own age. He argues that he knows tons of people his own age and he doesn’t like them; Chanyeol is his only friend by choice.

His part-time job starts at the beginning of June, just in time to ruin his summer vacation. Chanyeol feels for Baekhyun, but he’s excited by the thought of unlimited free sandwiches.

On his first day, Chanyeol drops him off; Baekhyun begs him to keep driving. He doesn’t want to do this. He’d rather have Chanyeol pretend to take him to work every day while they really just go shopping or out to eat for five hours. His mother would never even know. But, since the punch to his face, Chanyeol has made it a point to stop influencing the young cat in a negative way.

With a glare, Baekhyun gets out of the car and ignores Chanyeol when he tells him to have fun. He trudges slowly up to the building, not knowing what to expect, but fully expecting to hate every minute of it. He gives Chanyeol one last look back and rolls his eyes at the thumbs up he’s given, then enters the building with a sigh.

It’s dead silent in the small shop, void of any customers or workers. He has no idea what he’s supposed to do, or who he’s supposed to talk to. That is, if anyone is even here.

“Hello?” he calls out, leaning against the counter near the register.

There’s a loud, metallic clang from somewhere back in the kitchen, then a few curse words are whispered. Baekhyun looks around, double checking that no customers are around to hear the commotion.

The boy that rounds the corner is unexpectedly pretty. Baekhyun has perfected keeping a straight face when, on the inside, his body is screaming over a hot boy. He smiles and greets his new coworker.

“What can I get you?” the boy asks.

Baekhyun stares in a silent confusion for a moment, and the boy runs an annoyed hand through his dark hair quickly before slipping a transparent glove onto it.

“Hello?”

Baekhyun blinks. “Oh, sorry. I’m not a customer.” He smiles. “I’m Baekhyun, today’s my first day of work.”

“Oh shit,” the boy laughs, “that’s right, I forgot someone new was coming in today.” He returns Baekhyun’s smile and gestures for him to join him behind the counter.

The boy, Luhan, goes into the back and brings Baekhyun a mustard yellow t-shirt to put on. It says ‘Yum Yum Sandwich Time’ across the chest and has a cartoon loaf of bread on the back with a little speech bubble informing people that the shop bakes all their own bread. Not at all embarrassing.

For the next five hours Baekhyun makes sandwiches. Over and over and over, until he no longer wants to eat another sandwich in his life. When he’d walked into the shop he assumed it would stay slow, but right around lunch time, customers begin steadily filing in.

He has to ask Luhan a million questions, how to make certain things, if he’s allowed to add extras on the sandwiches, if he can give someone a discount because they’re sure the fur from his ears or tail will end up in their food. That comment hurts his feelings, but he handles it well. Luhan, on the other hand, snaps at the customer for being rude; that puts the smile back on Baekhyun’s face, until a woman yells at him for being slow.

The lunch rush ends and the few remaining customers finish up, leaving just himself and Luhan in the shop. Baekhyun takes a deep breath, amazed he made it through that unscathed. Luhan gives him a high five and tells him that he did a good job, and that rude customers can all go fuck themselves. That makes Baekhyun laugh.

Luhan walks over to the drink cooler and takes a bottled water, and a bag of chips from the stand next to it, and sits at one of the tables. Baekhyun joins him, but doesn’t grab anything for himself.

“Are we allowed to just eat and drink whatever we want?”

Luhan shoves a handful of chips into his mouth and shrugs. “My mom owns this place, so I can do whatever I want basically. But you—” He points a finger in Baekhyun’s face, “can only eat if you ask me really nicely.”

Baekhyun raises his eyebrows at that, but Luhan grins.

“I’m just kidding. As long as you do your job, I don’t care what you do.” He holds his bag of chips out so Baekhyun can take some. “Your ears look good on you.”

Baekhyun doesn’t know what to say to that; no one has ever complimented his cat ears like they’re an accessory he can remove if he so chooses.

“Is that a weird thing to say?” Luhan asks. “I just mean like—” He raises his hands up and leans back, closing one eye to get a visual of Baekhyun without his cat ears. “I can imagine you without them and you’re still cute, but the ears make you look even better.”

Is Luhan hitting on him right now? Is that what’s happening?

“Thank you, I think.”

Luhan’s smirk is small but cocky. “There was a compliment in there somewhere, I promise.” He slouches in his seat, one arm over the back of the chair. “How old are you?”

Oh, Baekhyun thinks, he’s definitely flirting. “I just turned seventeen. You?”

“Nineteen. I think I saw you at school a few times. You’re friends with the other two cats that went there; I graduated the year after them.”

“You know Minseok and Sehun?”

Luhan bites into his bottom lip and slowly nods. “You could say that.”

Baekhyun doesn’t ask for clarification; Luhan’s arrogant smirk tells him all he needs to know. Minseok and Sehun were apparently much more popular than he was led to believe; he’ll have to remember to text Minseok and tease him about it when he gets home.

“I know that face,” Chanyeol says as he turns slowly to watch Baekhyun walk a path from the door to the couch. “You saw a cute boy today, didn’t you?”

Baekhyun stares, slightly amazed that Chanyeol can tell by just his face. “My manager at work!” He smiles and wiggles excitedly. “He’s cool and very helpful, and—”

“Hot?” Chanyeol asks, giving Baekhyun the look.

“Maybe,” Baekhyun says with his arms crossed; Chanyeol purses his lips. “Okay, yes. Yes, he’s hot, alright? Every boy that talks to me is inexplicably hot for no reason other than to make my life interesting or dreadfully awkward.”

“That was surprisingly well-articulated.” He grins, “So, where do I fall on the scale of making your life interesting verses awkward?”

Baekhyun’s upper lip twitches, bearing his fangs in ager at Chanyeol’s smug little smirk.

Luhan is entertaining. He talks a lot, laughs a lot, and takes no measures to conceal his blatant attraction to the cat. Baekhyun tried to deny it was flirting at first; he had to have a long, in depth phone call with Kyungsoo to fully accept it. Kyungsoo insisted that no, Baekhyun, placing his hand on your waist is not just a friendly gesture.

Baekhyun takes the wrapped sandwich from Luhan and hands it to the customer across the counter with a smile. It’s a young girl who asks if she can touch his ears and, he wants to say no, but her smile and wonder-filled eyes are so sincere, he has no choice but to walk around the counter and crouch down to her level. She gives him a few gentle pats and then skips out of the shop beside her mother. Baekhyun follows behind them to lock the door so that he and Luhan can begin closing up for the night.

“When are you gonna let me pet you?”

Luhan is leaning forward on the counter with a teasing little grin when Baekhyun looks back at him. He’s got his arms stretched out in front of him and a dirty towel thrown over his shoulder, and Baekhyun is so attracted to him right now.

“Never,” Baekhyun sneers as he walks passed Luhan to the back room so he can grab a bucket of sanitizer. He returns to the counter and drops the bucket heavily onto the metal surface, then he leans over to snatch the towel from Luhan’s shoulder to begin wiping down the counter. “I don’t let people pet me.”

“Maybe you should,” Luhan says from somewhere closer than he was two seconds ago.

Baekhyun’s hand pauses and he squeezes the rag, watching the water pool up around it. He can feel the moment Luhan steps closer to him; it feels like the room shrinks to half its size. There’s a warm breath on his neck, and then an even warmer hand on his hip. He tries hard to hide his smile, settling on biting into his lip.

Luhan’s face is close in his peripherals, chin nearly resting on his shoulder. Baekhyun turns his head half an inch, and then Luhan is flipping him around and pressing him back against the counter. Baekhyun gulps; Luhan looks fierce right now, intimidating and hot like Sehun.

“What are you doing?” Baekhyun whispers stupidly, as if he doesn’t actually know what Luhan’s intentions are.

“You—”

His phone begins ringing and he scurries away from Luhan to go grab it from his jacket at the back of the shop. He peeks up at the clock, realizing he's more than ten minutes late leaving, and tosses the rag into the bucket. He hurries to grab his jacket and runs to the door to meet Chanyeol at his car, giving Luhan nothing more than a quick wave goodbye.

The most stressful moment in Baekhyun’s life thus far is the day Luhan texts him on their coinciding days off to see if he wants to hang out. He says yes, of course, and then proceeds to spend the next three hours trying to figure out what to wear and how he should style his hair. Then, to increase his level of anxiety, Chanyeol texts him and asks to hang out as well.

With a heavy sigh, Baekhyun formulates a genius plan.

“Luhan!” Baekhyun chirps excitedly, “This is Chanyeol. Chanyeol, Luhan.”

Chanyeol remains seated, legs crossed, sipping luke warm water from his coffee cup with a straight face. Luhan walks alongside Baekhyun, sticking close, keeping an arm draped loosely over Baekhyun’s shoulders. Chanyeol watches in silence as they sit, as Baekhyun bounces a few times, scooting just a little to put some space between himself and Luhan.

“So,” Chanyeol says, “Baekhyun’s told me a lot about you.”

Luhan grins, just one side of his mouth rising. “Weird, Baekhyun doesn’t really ever talk about you to me.”

Baekhyun takes an interest in his hands in his lap, sensing the odd tension in the room. He has no idea what it’s about, but he doesn’t like it. Especially not when he’s sitting in the middle of it.

“I-I’ve told you about Chanyeol before,” Baekhyun defends, having trouble speaking because Luhan has a hand on his leg. Every so often he’ll bend his fingers, pressing the tips into Baekhyun’s soft thigh. He can’t deny it feels nice, but with Chanyeol watching Luhan’s every move, it’s a little uncomfortable.

For a moment, no one speaks; Chanyeol and Luhan merely take turns looking between Baekhyun and each other.

“We should play a game,” Baekhyun suggests, looking for something to distract himself from this unbearable situation. Chanyeol agrees and stands to grab controllers, handing one to Baekhyun and then carelessly tossing one toward the general direction of Luhan.

They play for a while, all three focused on the game, no one making weird, passive-aggressive jabs at anyone else. Baekhyun loses, as usual, and watches the other two battle it out. Luhan is actually pretty good.

Luhan turns sideways once the match ends, after Chanyeol wins and goes to the kitchen to refill his mug with water. He stretches his legs out across the empty cushions in front of him and leans back against Baekhyun, resting his head on his shoulder. He reaches his arms up and flails his hands around, playfully slapping at Baekhyun’s cheeks before deciding to loop one arm around Baekhyun’s neck so he can bury his fingers into the hair at the back of his head.

It feels good. Baekhyun leans into the touch, enjoying the way Luhan’s neatly trimmed nails scratch at his scalp. He tips his head down and to the side, leading Luhan’s fingers to where he wants to be scratched next. But, Baekhyun hears Chanyeol approaching from the kitchen and leans away, sitting upright so that Luhan can no longer lean into him.

“I should probably get going,” Luhan says as Chanyeol returns to his chair. “Walk me out?”

Baekhyun agrees with a small nod and stands to follow Luhan to the door. He steps out onto the porch with him and, for a moment, they stand in front of the door in the dark.

Luhan reaches out to gently trace the shape of Baekhyun’s pointed ear. “This was fun. Maybe next time we can go to your house.”

Baekhyun nods and closes his eyes; Luhan’s fingers slide down his cheek and stop at his chin, and then he leans in to press the softest kiss to Baekhyun’s lips.

“See you at work,” Luhan whispers.

Baekhyun goes back into the house in a daze that he’s instantly knocked out of.

“He was all over you and I don’t like it,” Chanyeol states with a stern voice. “I don’t like him.”

Baekhyun sits and lets his body go limp, melting into the couch. He whines. “Why? I like him a lot,” he says in a cheery tone.

“Well, you—” Chanyeol sits back and clears his throat, takes a quick look around the room. “You shouldn’t,” he mumbles from behind the mug pressed to his lips.

“You saw him kiss me, didn’t you? Are you jealous?” Baekhyun teases.

Chanyeol gives an annoyed scoff at the accusation. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just trying to look out for you.”

“I’m seventeen, I can make my own decisions,” Baekhyun says, tone edging on snotty.

“Yeah well, Luhan is a bad decision.”

“You don’t even know him,” Baekhyun snaps, anger beginning to boil inside. Who does Chanyeol think he is to tell him who he should or shouldn’t like?

“I know guys like him, and they’re all the same,” Chanyeol retorts, keeping much calmer than Baekhyun. “He’s just gonna use you.”

“Why would I take advice from you? You’re twenty-one and the only person you talk to is a teenager. How would you know anything about how it feels to like someone? ”

Chanyeol doesn’t have an answer for that question; he just looks at Baekhyun with an indiscernible emotion on his face that only angers Baekhyun further. So Baekhyun stands and goes to the door, knowing he needs to leave before he says something else he’ll end up regretting once he calms down.

“When he hurts you, don’t come crying to me.” Chanyeol’s face is pained, eyebrows drawn together and jaw clenched.

Baekhyun glares, angry and heartbroken at Chanyeol’s careless words. He gulps around the lump in his throat. “You’re so mean,” he whispers, and then exits the house, slamming the door behind him.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a little trigger warning is necessary for this one. There's a bit of a non-con situation at one point in the chapter. Nothing actually happens, but I still wanted to put the warning out there just in case anyone wants to avoid the topic completely. 

After their small disagreement on the night Luhan kissed Baekhyun on Chanyeol’s porch, the two quickly make up, but Chanyeol doesn’t take back what he said about Luhan. More than once, Chanyeol tells Baekhyun that he needs to stop hanging out with Luhan. He can see how Luhan is changing him and he’s worried for the cat; he doesn’t like or trust Luhan in the slightest. Especially not with someone as innocent and impressionable as Baekhyun. He promises not to tell Baekhyun what to do again, but still implores him to be careful as he continues working with Luhan.

The summer job turns into a stressful, time consuming school year job when Baekhyun realizes how much he enjoys having spending money. His mother encourages him to open a savings account to begin setting money aside for college, or a car. He argues that he doesn’t even have a license and she tells him that, with his newfound surplus of cash, he can pay his way through driver’s training. He decides against it, choosing to stick with walking and free rides from Chanyeol. He frequently offers Chanyeol gas money, but it’s always declined. So, Baekhyun has a lot of money and no bills; his closet is filled with new clothes.

Though Baekhyun promised Chanyeol he’d be careful around Luhan, months of flirting back and forth has given Baekhyun a small crush on his coworker. He doesn’t expect anything from it, but he appreciates the practice at talking to hot boys flirting with Luhan is giving him. He’s rather smooth now, he must admit. He’s put his newly acquired skills to good use on Chanyeol a few times, making the older boy give him an impressed, and slightly shocked, doubletake more than once. He knows he doesn’t have a chance, but playfully hitting on Chanyeol is one of his favorite things to do, especially now that he’s actually good at it.

“Do you think that we could make a pizza out of the ingredients we have?”

Luhan stops sorting the small metal containers of vegetables took look up at Baekhyun with a bored look and gives a half-hearted shrug. “All we have is regular bread dough, but give it a shot. We’re almost out of here.”

Baekhyun’s smile fades just a little; he was thinking they could try together. He goes into the back and grabs a baking sheet and some raw dough to bring out to the front counter and begins pressing it flat. “You sure you don’t wanna try with me?” He looks over at Luhan as he reaches for the scoop in the marinara sauce they use for meatball subs.

“Yeah,” Luhan states simply, “I’m good.”

Baekhyun works diligently, humming happily along with the song playing from the shop’s speakers. He folds up the edges and sprinkles some cheese, then takes his creation to the oven in the back.

While he watches it bake, he listens to Luhan cleaning up front and takes out his phone to text Chanyeol a picture of his ugly pizza that he’s extremely proud of. Chanyeol tells him he can’t wait to try it, and then Baekhyun decides to go help Luhan finish cleaning up.

Since that first kiss on the porch, Luhan hasn’t held back his impulses with Baekhyun. They’ve made out more than once in the back of the shop on slow days, and a few times on the sidewalk outside after leaving and locking up.

Baekhyun reenters the storefront and is immediately greeted with hands on his hips, followed by Luhan’s lips on his. They kiss as Luhan walks them backward until Baekhyun hits a wall and giggles. Luhan slides his hands up to Baekhyun’s waist and squeezes, then he pulls Baekhyun from the wall and pushes him back into the kitchen.

“When are you gonna invite me over?” Luhan asks between kisses, voice low. “I’d love to do this in your bed instead of this kitchen.”

The obvious implication makes Baekhyun let out a quick, nervous laugh. “I don’t know,” he says simply, honestly. “When do you wanna come over?”

Luhan grins and bites into his bottom lip. He gives Baekhyun another hot, lingering kiss, and then pulls away. “How about tomorrow?”

Baekhyun gulps, taken aback by the suddenness of everything. He’s been making out every so often with Luhan for months, but he’s not ready to give himself up like that. Still, he doesn’t want to seem immature to an obviously experienced Luhan, so he agrees to tomorrow.

Luhan gives Baekhyun a final kiss and grabs at his tail near the base, causing the cat to gasp. Luhan smirks before leaving Baekhyun alone in the kitchen as he waits for his pizza to finish.

“Oh, kitten no. No, that’s a terrible idea. Tell him, Sehun.”

Baekhyun has his phone propped up on his desk, leaning against a small stack of books, as he searches through his closet, his back to the video call with both Minseok and Sehun. The brothers know that Baekhyun has a thing for Luhan, and that things have heated up between them recently, but this is the first time they’ve shown actual concern toward the situation.

“Yeah, Baek, I think Min’s right. You definitely shouldn’t invite Luhan over.”

Baekhyun finds what he’s looking for, just a simple black bomber jacket to go over his white t-shirt, and then turns to roll his eyes in view of the camera. “Well it’s too late, he’s on his way over right now.” He slips the jacket on and giggles when Minseok says he looks hot, then he takes his phone with him to go sit on his bed. “Why are you so against this anyway? Didn’t both of you sleep with him at one point?”

The brothers nod in unison.

“Baek, I’m telling you,” Minseok says with a worried look, “he’s no good.”

“No good,” Sehun repeats, agreeing with his brother.

“But why?” Baekhyun asks. “You’re not telling me why.”

Minseok and Sehun stare at each other’s faces in their separate video windows as if trying to silently decide who’s going to spill the details. Sehun raises an eyebrow and Minseok yields with a sigh.

“Luhan is uh…well, he’s all charm and allure and then he— How do I put this?”

“He’s got a weird hybrid fetish,” Sehun states bluntly. “He’s gonna make you think he likes you to get you to fuck him.”

Baekhyun looks to Minseok for reassurance that Sehun isn’t exaggerating; he can tell by the look on Minseok’s face that he’s not.

“Is that what happened to you?” His eyes shift between the two on his screen. “Is that why you’ve both had sex with him?” The seconds long pause both boys take frightens Baekhyun.

“Yep,” Sehun says simply. “Believe it or not I was once an innocent fourteen year old with a crush.” He shakes his head, remembering back to that time. “Looking back now I should have realized he was a freak.”

“Yeah,” Minseok nods, “he always wanted to touch our tails and ears, super weird.”

Baekhyun thinks back to one of the first conversations he’d had with Luhan, when he complimented his ears. He feels stupid for liking him now.

“He’s so nice though,” he argues, not wanting to believe his crush is only interested in his cat parts.

“Of course he is,” Sehun says, “how else would he get you to take your clothes off for him?”

Minseok can see the subtle shift in Baekhyun’s demeanor. “There’s lots of people out there like him, with their weird little feline fetishes. You just gotta learn to spot it.”

Baekhyun pouts and shrugs. “I guess.”

“It happens to the best of us,” Sehun offers as comfort. “Minseok and I both fell for his bullshit. Just be happy you have us here to look out for you so you don’t fall for it too.”

“Awe, Sehun that was so sweet,” Minseok says with a smile. “Having a girlfriend really changed you.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Sehun says, and then disconnects from the call.

Minseok laughs and then refocuses his attention on a pouty Baekhyun. “Cheer up kitten, it’ll be alright. Chanyeol’s way better than Luhan anyway, so don’t waste your feelings on him.”

“Chanyeol’s never gonna happen and you know it,” Baekhyun says bitterly.

“You never know,” Minseok retorts with the same unreadable expression on his face he used when he’d questioned Baekhyun about Chanyeol’s scent before; Baekhyun could never forget that look.

“Why do you—” Baekhyun cuts himself off and looks off camera. “I have to go, he’s here.”

“Remember, you’re too good for him,” Minseok gives as a final piece of wisdom, and then his screen goes black.

Baekhyun checks his appearance in the mirror, deciding to remove his jacket before exiting his room with a sigh. He has a strong suspicion that this night is going to end with Chanyeol telling him ‘I told you so’.

Luhan greets Baekhyun at the door with a smile and a gentle caress to one of his pointed ears. It feels good, makes Baekhyun’s eyes slip closed, but he remembers Minseok and Sehun’s warning and takes a step back. Luhan doesn’t seem to notice anything off about Baekhyun’s actions as he steps into the house and stands in front of Baekhyun with an expectant look.

“Where’s your room?”

Baekhyun’s a little thrown off by how forward that question is. So, Luhan just wants to skip all pleasantries and head straight for the bed. Baekhyun struggles for a moment, thinking what he should do. He knows he’s over his short-lived crush, now that he’s aware of the kind of person Luhan truly is. What’s the issue, then, if he were to have sex with him? He likes sex and it’s been a terribly long time; maybe he should let it happen.

He’s thinking with his dick and he’s not sure he likes this side of himself. If he weren’t worried about Luhan seeing his face, he’d frown. Chanyeol was right, Luhan has changed him. Still, he leads Luhan to his room against his better judgement.

“You sure you don’t want to swim or something? I have a really nice pool,” Baekhyun offers, suddenly nervous under Luhan’s heavy gaze.

“We both know why I’m here, Baekhyun.” He smirks, eyes fixed on Baekhyun’s tail swaying slowly. “Might as well get straight to the point.”

“O-okay,” Baekhyun gulps and, within seconds, Luhan has crossed the room and is pressing himself against him, kissing him, ushering him toward the bed.

Baekhyun is shoved down, climbed on top of, his shirt ripped up over his head in a hurry. He barely has time to register what’s happening, or where Luhan is touching; everything is happening so quickly. The oddest mixture of confusion and pleasure is running through him, keeping him obediently pinned to the bed.

Luhan runs a hand over Baekhyun’s pointed ear, flattening it to his head for a brief moment, then he watches it pop back into place when he removes his hand. He takes Baekhyun’s lips as he begins to unbutton his jeans, hands fumbling in his hurry.

Baekhyun is kissing back to the best of his ability, unable to fully keep up with everything that’s happening to him all at once. He’s suddenly flipped onto his stomach, his jeans are tugged down just enough to fully expose his tail. Luhan wastes no time in taking a firm grip at the base and Baekhyun shouts at the unexpected, yet pleasurable, sensation.

As good as it feels, the frantic pace frightens Baekhyun out of what should be a lustful daze and he hurries to turn himself over and sit up, leaning back out of the reach of Luhan’s lips.

“Luhan—”

But, Luhan doesn’t let Baekhyun finish, too entranced with the cat beneath him to care what’s being said. He simply surges forward to continue kissing Baekhyun who, for a moment, returns the kiss. Then Luhan’s hand is on his tail again and Baekhyun breaks the kiss and leans away.

“Luhan, stop. I—”

Luhan grabs the side of Baekhyun’s face, thumb pressing into his lips to keep him quiet. “I want to taste your slick.” He licks along his bottom lip, eyes looking into Baekhyun’s, but seeming somewhere distant, likely lost in fantasies of all the things he’d love to do to Baekhyun. “I bet you’re sweet.”

The look Luhan is giving him scares him, so Baekhyun closes his eyes. He now realizes that he’s made a terrible mistake. He doesn’t want to satisfy someone’s fetish for fuzzy ears and a tail.

“Luhan I don’t want to do this.”

Again, Luhan ignores him; he takes Baekhyun’s lips, crawling over him to cage him between himself and the bed. The hand that isn’t pinning Baekhyun’s wrist down is squeezing at his waist while he moves to press kisses to Baekhyun’s jaw and neck.

“Get off,” Baekhyun says softly, eyes closed tight in fear and panic. Luhan doesn’t listen, so Baekhyun raises his voice. “Luhan, I said stop!”

Luhan does stop now, but it’s sudden and he yelps. Baekhyun opens his eyes in time to see a hand tangle in Luhan’s hair and wrench him backward, off of the bed. Baekhyun sits up and scoots back to put some distance between himself and Luhan, and he makes eye contact with Chanyeol, standing behind Luhan, keeping him still with a tight grip of his hair.

“How many times has he told you to stop?” Chanyeol asks through clenched teeth, voice low and demanding. When Luhan doesn’t answer, Chanyeol jerks Luhan’s head to the side causing him to wince.

Luhan pulls out of Chanyeol’s hold and takes a few steps back, shooting a glare between him and Baekhyun. He clicks his tongue and purses his lips, displeased with this turn of events. He turns his attention to Baekhyun. “Why can’t you just be like a normal slutty hybrid?”

Chanyeol turns on him and gives him a rough shove to the chest that sends him backward into the wall. Luhan quickly regains his bearings, his fists clenched and ready to swing, but Baekhyun hops off the bed and steps up between them. As hot as it would be to see Chanyeol punch Luhan, he doesn’t want it to come to that.

Luhan’s amused by Baekhyun getting in his face; he grins. “Every other cat gives it up so easy,” his words are spoken slowly, with great pride.

Knowing that Minseok and Sehun are lumped into the group of hybrids Luhan is stereotyping takes Baekhyun past upset and straight to pissed off. He steps closer to Luhan with a vicious scowl.

“Maybe they do when they’re in heat, but hybrids are people too, and we have feelings. We’re not just here so you can get off on your weird fucking fetish.”

“Whatever,” Luhan scoffs. “You’re a waste of time.” He shakes his head and makes his way to the door.

“Even if I was in heat, I still wouldn’t have sex with you.” He gets a moment of brief satisfaction when his words cause Luhan to falter in the doorway for a second.

He watches Luhan leave his room, anger still building deep inside. He hears the front door open and he stomps down the hallway, flings the front door open and steps onto the porch.

“Tell your mom I quit!” he shouts at Luhan’s back; he doesn’t stop or even look back.

Luhan walks away without another word, getting in his car and leaving Baekhyun on the porch with a pounding heart and hurt feelings. He takes a deep breath and swallows around the lump in his throat; it doesn’t feel good to be placed into a category and treated like a piece of meat. But, he really doesn’t want to cry over someone like Luhan.

Minseok was right; he is too good for him.

He smells Chanyeol’s scent suddenly and a flood of calmness surrounds him. He closes his eyes and enjoys the feeling for a moment until he hears footsteps growing closer.

“Baek? Are you okay?”

When he opens his eyes and sees Chanyeol standing in front of him his face crumbles, emotions boiling over in the form of tears and gasping, distressed hiccups.

Chanyeol takes in Baekhyun’s disheveled state; his shirt is off and his pants are undone, hanging low on his hips. He’s so angry right now; he wishes Baekhyun would have let him hit Luhan. But, he pushes his anger aside because Baekhyun is crying and that’s the only thing that matters to him. He grabs Baekhyun and pulls him into a tight hug.

“Baek, what happened in there?” He has a general idea of what took place, but he doesn’t know the whole story. He can only assume. “He-he didn’t—” He can’t bring himself to ask the question; he fears the answer.

He readjust his arms to cradle Baekhyun’s head against his chest; he can feel him trembling and it fills him with rage. He can’t understand how someone could ever treat Baekhyun like that.

“Baek?” Chanyeol pushes the cat back a bit and brushes his bangs from his eyes. “You gotta talk to me, okay?”

Baekhyun tries to speak. He’s not crying anymore, but his chin is still quivering. “He— He just wouldn’t stop.”

“If I ever see him again…” Chanyeol says, face terrifyingly serious. He pulls Baekhyun close and circles his arms around him again.

The arms around him are warm and comforting and Baekhyun feels like he could stay with Chanyeol like this forever, but he pulls away and sighs. “Minseok and Sehun warned me about him. I should have listened.”

“Don’t blame yourself for him being a piece of shit,” Chanyeol says. He tucks that same piece of displaced hair at the front of Baekhyun’s head back again and cups the side of Baekhyun’s neck. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Baekhyun’s pouting, but he nods. “Can you please not tell me you told me so?”

“Of course I won’t,” Chanyeol says; he’s smiling softly, rubbing his thumb gently against Baekhyun’s cheek. “I’m really proud of you for telling him off.”

Baekhyun looks up with a proud smile, lips pressed together and eyes curved happily. “I used the f-word and everything.” He sighs, but it’s more from relief than stress. “Please don’t tell my mom about any of this.”

Chanyeol matches Baekhyun’s happy demeanor. His hand drops from Baekhyun’s neck to his shoulder and he just looks at him for a moment, bottom lip caught between his teeth. “I promise I won’t.”

Baekhyun sees Chanyeol’s hand at his side twitch, like he wants to move it, but he doesn’t. There’s a long pause, just a silent moment shared between them. Baekhyun doesn’t know what Chanyeol is thinking, but he wishes he did.

“You wanna go get some lunch with me?” Chanyeol asks.

Baekhyun grins, showing his fangs off. “I’d love to.”

While they sit together and eat lunch, Baekhyun can tell Chanyeol is being extra silly to keep him smiling. His company alone is enough to keep Baekhyun happy, but he appreciates the added effort.

“Hey, so, how did you know that Luhan was, um, that I needed help?” Baekhyun asks, finding it hard to meet Chanyeol’s eyes as he waits for an answer.

Chanyeol smiles, looking somewhere off in the distance as he thinks. “I don’t know,” he shrugs.

Baekhyun grins and leans forward. “Don’t lie to me, how’d you know.”

Chanyeol sighs; he knows he’s been caught. “I saw Luhan’s car in front of your house and I…may have wandered over to…make sure nothing happened.” He avoids eye contact and scratches at the back of his head.

When he finally looks at Baekhyun, the cat is staring at him. “I know I shouldn’t have, okay? I know you’re old enough to do whatever it is you want to do, with whoever you want to do it with, but—”

“Chanyeol.”

“I just don’t like Luhan okay? He gave me bad vibes from the moment I met him. I just—”

“Thank you,” Baekhyun says, stopping Chanyeol’s rambling apology. He reaches over to hold one of Chanyeol’s hands on the table. “Really. I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t walk in.” His chin trembles, but he continues smiling. “So, thank you for being nosy and over protective.”

“I’m not nosy and over protective,” Chanyeol says with a gentle squeeze of Baekhyun’s hand, “I just care about you.”

That admission causes Baekhyun to purr. Chanyeol’s eyes widen and he quickly pulls his hand from Baekhyun’s.

“I did not know that you could purr.” He looks Baekhyun up and down and leans back, taking in this new information.

Baekhyun laughs, sticking his tongue out between his teeth. “I can! It’s not a conscious thing though, it only happens when I’m—” He looks down at the table to hide his smile, then looks back up. “When I’m really happy,” he finishes, tone softer now.

It’s in this moment, looking up into Chanyeol’s eyes as he purrs happily, that he realizes why he was incapable of returning Jongin’s feelings.

His heart has already been given away, lost deep in love with Chanyeol.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I decided I'm too excited for all of you to read the ending, so I'm going to post the final chapters quickly. One chapter a day until the final on Saturday. That's right, 21 chapters. Just 3 to go after this. I hope you guys enjoy this little gift for being so supportive! A little heads up though, this chapter is a little boring, not too much happens in it. Just a little calm before the storm lol

Baekhyun spends the majority of his final year of high school in a sort of autopilot. His earlier years of school, where he’d worry about having friends to talk to or sit with at lunch, those are gone. He’s content sitting by himself with his phone, texting Chanyeol while he’s supposed to be doing some kind of paperwork as he sits at his fancy office desk. He goes to his classes, does his work, studies for tests, all without thinking about what any of it really means to him. Because in the grand scheme of things, he’ll be leaving this place never to return, and none of the things he might have missed out on will matter anymore.

It isn’t until the Friday bell rings at the end of the school day, signaling the beginning of the weekend, that Baekhyun comes to life. He sheds his quiet school façade and relaxes in the comfort of Chanyeol’s living room, becoming his true, loud, rowdy, silly self.

This weekend is special for Baekhyun. This weekend he turns eighteen. The beginning of his adult life, though he still has another month of high school left to finish. Minseok is coming home for the weekend to celebrate with him and bringing Jongin along as well, and Baekhyun couldn’t be more excited to see them; it’s been much too long.

He wakes early on Saturday morning to the smell of pancakes and hops out of bed, excited to begin the day with a birthday breakfast with his mother. She’s done this for him every year since his adoption and it’s always been his favorite part of his birthday.

She greets him when he enters the kitchen with a kiss to the top of his head and a one-armed hug, because the other is busy stirring eggs in a bowl. “Your hair is a mess,” she says as she tries her best to flatten it, “It looks like you slept standing on your head.”

Baekhyun only grins and leans into his mother’s soft scratching at his scalp. She denies his request to help her finish cooking, so he goes to sit at the table. He checks his phone as he waits, reading the few birthday wishes he’d received in texts. On Instagram, Minseok’s posted a picture of them from when they first became friends and tagged him with the caption: ‘little baby’s all grown up’, followed by many crying face emojis.

Baekhyun has never seen his mother cry. He’s witnessed her angry, livid once, when a man in a store grabbed at Baekhyun’s tail. But crying is something she doesn’t do. So when, after they finish eating, she looks at him with tears in her eyes, he’s unsure of how to react.

“Um…are you okay?”

She places a hand over her chest and nods slowly, giving her son a sad smile. “I just can’t believe you’re all grown up. You’re going to graduate and move away.” She lets out a wistful sigh. “My little kitten. What’s your mother going to do when both her babies are gone?”

Baekhyun has no idea how to respond to that. He hasn’t even begun applying to colleges yet, which his school counselor has consistently hounded him for. So, there’s no guarantee he’ll be moving far away.

“It’s gonna be okay, mom. You’ll be just fine.” He offers her a wide smile and insists on washing the dishes for her, which she protests because it’s his birthday, but he refuses to take no for an answer.

His mother remains at the table while he works, tearfully reminiscing about the day she’d brought him home. It’s very sweet of her, and he feels sad listening to how much she loves and adores him. He almost regrets how excited he is at the idea of moving away for college.

He doesn’t know what his friends have planned for him, or when Minseok and Jongin plan to arrive, so he showers and gets ready early in the day. And around noon, when he’s applying the finishing touches of product to his hair in the bathroom, he hears two car doors slam and the unmistakable sound of Minseok’s laugh. He quickly runs his fingers through his hair and dashes out of the bathroom, down the hall to the front door.

Minseok meets him halfway, the two crashing into each other on the walkway up to the house. They cause a small scene with their excited shouting; Minseok grabs Baekhyun by both cheeks and screams in his face, ecstatic to finally be with him in person after two long years.

While equally happy to see Baekhyun, Jongin remains calm and gives Baekhyun a simple hug.

“I can’t tell what’s different about you,” Baekhyun says as his cheek is smashed against Jongin’s body. He can feel Jongin’s shoulders shake as he chuckles. He leans back with his arms crossed and narrows his eyes, scanning Jongin’s body slowly. “You look…hotter.”

Jongin laughs loud at that. “It must be your imagination, I haven’t changed since you last saw me.”

Baekhyun giggles as he plays with the hem at the bottom of Jongin’s shirt. “Take this off and I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Okay!” Minseok interrupts, throwing an arm over Baekhyun’s shoulders. He begins dragging Baekhyun toward the house. “Horny cat,” he whispers in his ear, making the younger elbow him in the side.

When Chanyeol gets home a few hours later he comes over to join the small party. He opens the door and steps into the living room, and Minseok shoots Baekhyun a look of raised eyebrows and a teasing grin.

Chanyeol’s bright red hair had long since faded to a weird orangey scarlet that, while Baekhyun insisted still looked good on him, he hated. He’s been talking about going to a salon to have it redone for weeks now, and on this glorious eighteenth birthday of his, Baekhyun is looking at a silver-haired Chanyeol standing at the center of his living room. He’s been blessed. Truly.

“Mines natural,” Minseok teases as he drags his fingers through his own silvery hair. “It looks good though,” he elbows Baekhyun who’s frozen in place, staring with a stupid, open-mouthed look on his face. “Right Baek?”

“Yes,” he squeaks out, only after he takes another elbow to his ribs.

Chanyeol sits on the couch opposite Baekhyun, beside Jongin, remembering suddenly that the last time he’d seen Jongin he was naked on top of Baekhyun in the backyard. He scowls to himself at the memory and focuses on the birthday plans the other three boys are talking about.

A few hours later they all pile into Chanyeol’s car and head to the mall. Not only does Baekhyun want to shop around, but he wants to see a new movie that has just come out, and there happens to be a theater attached to the mall.

Baekhyun sticks close to Chanyeol’s side the entire time they walk around, frequently looking up and admiring the handsome man and his new hair when he’s not paying attention. He’s almost caught staring a couple times, but he’s pretty good at playing it off like he was looking at a nearby store window display.

Every store Baekhyun steps foot in has at least one or two items that catch his eye, but he doesn’t buy anything. He still has a small chunk left of the money he’d saved from working at the sandwich shop months ago, but it’s dwindling rather quickly and he’d like to have some money left over to spend if he does end up going away for college. Still, this doesn’t stop him from grabbing clothes off the rack to take to the changing rooms.

He falls in love with a leather jacket at one point, but sadly has to place it back on the rack when he looks at the price tag. He loves it, but he’s not willing to spend $125.

The group makes their way to the food court because Baekhyun demands a mango smoothie. Chanyeol says he’ll meet them there because he has to go to the bathroom, and then after, they head to Chanyeol’s car so Minseok and Chanyeol can drop of their bags before going into the movie theater.

Much like in the mall, Baekhyun stays close to Chanyeol in the theater. He’s pressed against him in line, grabbing onto his shoulders to convince him to share a large popcorn and a drink with him, they sit beside each other once in the dark screening room. They take turns shouting incorrect answers to the pre-movie trivia questions, having fun lost in their own world regardless of Minseok and Jongin’s presence directly to their right.

Halfway through the movie Baekhyun finds himself slouched over in his seat, arms wrapped around Chanyeol’s left arm resting between them. He tips his head onto Chanyeol’s bicep and sighs, absolutely content.

After the movie, which was unfortunately boring, they file out of the theater and into the cool night air to cram back into Chanyeol’s car, with Baekhyun’s house as their final destination.

Back at the house Baekhyun’s mother has a few cute decorations set up in the kitchen along with a cake from Baekhyun’s favorite bakery, topped with fruits and whipped cream. They sing happy birthday and his mother cuts the cake, then tears up once again as she hands Baekhyun his slice.

The boys eat and talk; Baekhyun gleefully accepts the gift card Minseok and Jongin chipped in to buy for him. His mother tells him that her love for him is his gift, but she laughs and gives him the laptop she’d purchased for him; Chanyeol calls him a spoiled brat. Baekhyun is only a little sad that Chanyeol doesn’t have a gift for him.

The eventful night is brought to a close when Jongin announces he’s leaving, wanting to spend the night with his parents who he hasn’t seen for a while. He hugs Baekhyun and wishes him a happy birthday once more, then gets the keys from Minseok so he can leave.

Chanyeol decides he’s tired a short while later and Baekhyun hops up off the couch to walk him to the door. He steps out onto the porch with Chanyeol who gives him a suspicious nod of his head that Baekhyun takes as a hint to follow him.

He’s led to Chanyeol’s car, where he watches him lean into the backseat and shuffle through his various bags of stuff he’d bought at the mall earlier. Baekhyun’s curiosity is killing him.

“So, don’t be mad,” Chanyeol says when he turns to Baekhyun, holding a bag from Baekhyun’s favorite store in his hands. “But, I got you something.” He holds the bag out with a smile and watches Baekhyun excitedly dig into it.

“Why would I be mad?” Baekhyun jokes, one arm shoved into the bag. He can immediately tell what it is as soon as his fingers make contact with it, and his jaw drops. “I can’t believe you spent that much money on me.”

He pulls the leather jacket from the bag, but he’s looking up at Chanyeol instead in disbelief. Chanyeol just shrugs, like $125 is no big deal.

“It looked good on you,” Chanyeol defends, “I wanted you to have it.” He takes the jacket from Baekhyun’s hands and holds it out, letting Baekhyun turn around and slip his arms into the sleeves.

Baekhyun turns back to Chanyeol and poses like a model, making Chanyeol laugh, but then he steps back and becomes serious. “You really shouldn’t have bought this, it’s so expensive.”

Like he’s done many times before, Chanyeol pushes Baekhyun’s bangs from his eyes with his middle finger and, for a split second, Baekhyun thinks that Chanyeol might kiss him. For a second, everything in Baekhyun’s world shrinks down to just him and Chanyeol, facing each other in the moonlight, no one, nothing around them but the wind and the soft sound of crickets chirping.

Chanyeol leans forward and Baekhyun closes his eyes, a purr stirring somewhere deep in his chest and then, Chanyeol hugs him.

“I knew it!” Minseok shouts when Baekhyun reenters the house. “I knew that little sneak wasn’t going to the bathroom earlier.” He gets up and circles Baekhyun, poking at the various buttons on his new jacket and stops suddenly, giving Baekhyun a sideways look. “Are you…purring?”

“No!” He knows Minseok can hear the purring, so he doesn’t understand why he lies.

“Even if I couldn’t hear you purring, your little cat ears give you away.”

Baekhyun frowns and pushes his ears flat to his head with his hands. “Why does everyone say that? Chanyeol told me that once too.”

Minseok sits and pats the cushion beside him happily until Baekhyun takes the hint and sits beside him.

“I don’t like the face you’re making,” Baekhyun states, leaning away when Minseok gets in his face to wiggle his eyebrows at him.

“Do you remember when you went through your first heat and I asked you if it was only Chanyeol’s scent that affected you so strongly?” He waits for a feeble, confused nod. “I knew then.”

Baekhyun rearranges himself on the couch so he can fully face his best friend during this extremely crucial moment. “What? What did you know?”

“Oh, Baekhyun. You know absolutely nothing of your own little hybrid body.” He pinches Baekhyun’s cheek affectionately. “Kitten, you imprinted on Chanyeol.”

Baekhyun stares, dumbstruck, at Minseok. His googling phase in ninth grade had introduced him to the phenomenon of imprinting but, it’s not possible. “There’s no way,” he says, “that only happens to really young kittens.”

Minseok laughs. “Yeah, and you hit puberty how many years too late? So your timeline is thrown off.” He shrugs and then messes up Baekhyun’s hair with both hands. “But, I know imprinting when I see it.”

“Oh,” is the only thing Baekhyun can manage to say.

His birthday passes and a week goes by, and Minseok’s words remain at the forefront of Baekhyun’s thoughts. No matter what he’s doing, it’s the only thing he can think about. What a cruel fate, he thinks, to imprint on a human that doesn’t have the capability to feel it, or even understand the concept.

He spends a lot of time wondering how different things would be between them, if Chanyeol could feel the effects of Baekhyun’s imprinting. He wonders if Chanyeol would treat him any differently if he could feel how in love with him Baekhyun really is.

He sighs and tips his head back against the steel backrest of the chair, worn down from lost sleep and overthinking.

“You alright?” Chanyeol asks from his seat on the other side of the small round table. He’s got his laptop open in front of him, working on some kind of report for his job, and a large, half-drank iced coffee off to his left.

Baekhyun sits up and nods. “Just, can’t figure out which schools to apply to,” he lies, glad Chanyeol isn’t looking up at him anymore. “Where do you think I should go?”

Chanyeol shrugs. “I never went to college,” he says, “I went straight to work for my dad’s company. Then I moved into my own house, and met this weird little neighbor cat.”

Baekhyun watches his reflection in his dark laptop screen smile. “Did you think we’d end up being friends back when we first met?”

“No,” Chanyeol says, a little too quick for Baekhyun’s liking. He notices the slight offense Baekhyun takes to that and laughs softly. “You were…a lot to deal with when you were fourteen.” His grin widens, “You still are, to be honest.”

Like a film reel, memories of all the embarrassing and weird things he’s done in front of Chanyeol play through his head. He’d snuck around Chanyeol’s house searching for his scent, told him he wanted to have sex with him, actually had sex in front of him. Maybe he should apologize.

“You were weird,” Chanyeol states, “but, you were also such a cute kid I couldn’t say no to you.” He takes a sip from his drink and shrugs. “And now here we are.”

“You thought I was cute?” Baekhyun teases.

Chanyeol closes his eyes; he’s walked into this exact trap so many times before, he’s ashamed he hasn’t learned his lesson yet. “Yes, Baekhyun. I think you were a cute child,” he emphasizes.

“What about now?” He’s pushing it and he knows it, but he can’t help himself. “Am I a cute adult?”

Chanyeol bites his bottom lip as he smiles and shakes his head, amazed at how forward Baekhyun’s grown to be, admiring his persistence. “Enough of that. Keep looking at schools, that’s more important right now.”

“Aww,” Baekhyun whines, “But I was so close to finally getting you to admit you think I’m hot.”

He watches Chanyeol’s eyes scan his face and wishes he could read his mind, because he can’t tell what emotion his eyes are expressing. He’d give anything to know how Chanyeol really feels about him; even if it isn’t what he wants to hear, at least he’d know.

When Chanyeol doesn’t say anything in response, Baekhyun takes the hint and drops the subject. “I think I might just go to the school Minseok and Jongin are at. Minseok said he’d let me stay in his apartment with him, so it’d save me money in the long run.”

This time, Baekhyun can see the emotion behind Chanyeol’s eyes; though he’s smiling, his eyes are sad. He doesn’t know what it means and he’s honestly a little afraid of the answer. So, he doesn’t ask.

“You want another coffee?” He asks instead as he stands.

Chanyeol nods and Baekhyun heads toward the counter, Chanyeol’s coffee order memorized after years of coffee dates. He orders and stands at the other end of the counter, turned to face Chanyeol, watching him type on his computer. Then Chanyeol looks up and smiles at him; he smiles back and wonders if somehow, there’s anyway Chanyeol could ever understand what he feels for him.

He just wants Chanyeol to love him back.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

When Baekhyun finally graduates high school his life seems to turn into a hectic race into adulthood. He spends countless hours deciding what from his childhood room he should bring with him to his new adult room in Minseok’s large, fancy apartment. He hasn’t seen the place yet, but he knows it’s going to be extravagant.

He never realized how much stuff he has until he began going through it all to condense his entire life into a few cardboard boxes, and it’s tough. Every single knickknack he pulls from the depths of his closet, or off a dusty shelf, seems to have value and meaning to him now. It’s hard to part ways with many of these things.

The night before his graduation party, two days before he leaves, he has everything packed and ready to go. It’s strange to see the room he’d spent most of his life in so barren; it looks as if it’s been unused for years, left to be a storage room for various memories and mementos. He understands when his mother stops in the doorway and sheds a few tears. He’s really leaving, and it’s scary and sad.

Chanyeol calls and asks if he wants to hang out, one last time before he leaves, he adds, which makes Baekhyun choke up.

So, he walks over to Chanyeol’s, keeping his eyes on the open front door the entire time, wanting to cry because this very well may be the last time he takes this walk. Chanyeol appears in his doorway suddenly and Baekhyun’s heart skips a beat. He’s going to miss this so much.

Chanyeol opens the door for him and watches Baekhyun take his shoes off and go to the couch, where he lays face down and sighs into the cushion.

“Rough day?” Chanyeol asks, still standing by the door watching him, something Baekhyun’s just now realized he has a habit of doing.

Baekhyun rolls onto his back and looks straight up. “I promise I’m not trying to be weird, but, can you just come sit with me?” He really doesn’t want to cry, but he’s pretty sure that’s where things are heading.

Chanyeol doesn’t give a verbal answer, but he crosses the room and motions for Baekhyun to lift his head so he can sit.

Baekhyun waits for Chanyeol to get comfortable and then lays back, resting his head in Chanyeol’s lap. He stares up at him; it’s a weird angle, but Chanyeol still looks handsome. “I don’t wanna go,” he admits, realizing it more now that he’s sitting here with Chanyeol.

“Moving away is scary,” Chanyeol says, tipping his head down to look at Baekhyun. “You’ll be fine though, you’re gonna be with Minseok and Jongin. You won’t be alone.”

Baekhyun’s chin trembles. He wants to tell Chanyeol that he doesn’t care about who he’s going to be with, he doesn’t care if he’s alone or not; all he cares about is that he’s not going to live next door to him anymore, and that’s what terrifies him about moving away.

He wants to tell Chanyeol he’s in love with him.

“How about we watch that cheesy rom-com you’ve been begging me to watch with you for weeks?”

Baekhyun’s pouting, but he nods. “That sounds good.”

At some point, Chanyeol’s hand finds its way to Baekhyun’s head and begins petting around his ears. Baekhyun turns over onto his stomach, resting his head on his arms that are crossed over Chanyeol’s lap, and begins purring when Chanyeol’s fingertips gently brush the short hairs behind his human ear.

Baekhyun’s eyes slip closed. His breathing slows as his purrs increase in volume. He could fall asleep like this, with Chanyeol mindlessly tracing patterns into his skin. Chanyeol’s fingers follow the line of Baekhyun’s spine, stopping just above his tail and then go back up. Baekhyun sighs, never having felt so content in his life. He wants to live in this moment forever, always having Chanyeol so close, being so gentle and caring. If he could stay right here for the rest of his life, he’d do it.

When Chanyeol’s hand dips down again nearly grazing his tail, Baekhyun hums softly, body melting into the couch. He knows Chanyeol is probably only half-aware of what he’s doing, but his touch is euphoric to Baekhyun, who’s completely aware of every spot on his body Chanyeol has put his hand on.

Then right on time, in true older brother fashion, Kyungsoo knocks on the door, ruining Baekhyun’s perfect moment.

Kyungsoo enters the house and Baekhyun sits up, still half in a daze, and smiles at his brother.

“Mom told me to come get you.”

“For what?” Baekhyun whines.

“I don’t know, go ask her.”

Baekhyun grumbles to himself through the process of standing and putting his shoes on. He says bye to Chanyeol, and that he’ll see him tomorrow, and walks off to go see what his mother wants.

Kyungsoo waits until he knows Baekhyun’s out of earshot and then closes Chanyeol’s front door. “Listen, I know the last time I saw you I punched you, and I’m sorry about that. But, now that Baekhyun is eighteen I have to let him make his own decisions.” Kyungsoo sighs and crosses his arms. “And, for some reason, you’re one of them.”

There’s a short pause; Kyungsoo stares at Chanyeol, hoping that he understands just how serious he is right now.

“I know you care about him, Chanyeol, but that’s my little brother and I love him more than anyone on this planet. All I ask is that you don’t lead him on anymore.”

“What are you talking about?” Chanyeol asks, obviously confused. “I-I don’t do— I haven’t been.”

“If you don’t have any sort of feelings for him then you can’t keep doing things like this,” he says, motioning to where Baekhyun was just laying with his head on Chanyeol’s lap. “All you’re gonna do is break his heart, and I’m not afraid to punch you in the eye again if that happens.”

Chanyeol doesn’t say anything, just stares at Kyungsoo, lost for words. Has he been leading Baekhyun on all this time? He thought he was just being a good friend. A best friend.

“You’re right,” Chanyeol sighs, shaking his head at this realization. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Kyungsoo, I’ll stop.”

That response surprises Kyungsoo; he more than half expected Chanyeol to admit to having feelings for Baekhyun. He doesn’t necessarily like the idea of Chanyeol and his little brother being together, but he hates the idea of ever having to see Baekhyun crying and brokenhearted. He gives Chanyeol a dissatisfied glare.

“I’ll see you at the party tomorrow,” he snaps, then exits the house with a slam of the door.

Baekhyun wakes early the next morning and is immediately put to work out in the yard alongside Chanyeol and Kyungsoo. They’re tasked with getting tables and chairs set up and Baekhyun hardly does any work, too busy messing around with Chanyeol as Kyungsoo works diligently with a keen eye focused on Chanyeol the entire time.

Chanyeol picks Baekhyun up and tosses him over his shoulder, threatening to toss him in the pool.

“Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo shouts from across the yard with a glare. “Can you actually get some work done? The party starts in like two hours.”

Chanyeol’s smile drops from his face and he slips Baekhyun down onto the ground.

“What’s gotten into him?” Baekhyun asks quietly, looking back at his brother over his shoulder.

Chanyeol knows what it is, and he’s ashamed to admit it, so he doesn’t. Instead, he just shrugs and tries to laugh it off. He spends the rest of his time focused on getting all the chairs set up around the tables, only peeking at Baekhyun setting up decorations every so often with a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. Maybe Kyungsoo is right, maybe he really has been stringing poor little Baekhyun along all this time without even realizing it.

They eventually get the job done, sweating profusely in the summer heat, and all part ways to go shower and get ready.

When family starts arriving, Baekhyun is already over the whole party. Family members he hasn’t seen or heard from in years show up and pinch his cheeks, coo over how grown up he is. A girl cousin pinches one of his cat ears, which he hates.

His saving grace is when a car pulls up, blaring loud music, and his friends hop out. Jongin, Minseok, and Sehun make their way to the backyard and Baekhyun couldn’t be happier to see them; they can be his excuse to avoid long conversations with distant relatives.

He hugs each of his friends and drags them away from the large group of adults he’s been stuck with for the past hour, eager to stop answering questions about his future.

“This party is super cute,” Minseok says, scanning the length of the yard. He turns to Baekhyun with a smile, “And, you have some hot family members.”

Baekhyun grimaces, “Gross.”

“Who’s that one?” Sehun asks, pointing the hand with his drink in it at a girl standing beside the pool. “The girl in the blue dress.”

“That’s my cousin.” He narrows his eyes, “Why?”

Sehun purses his lips, taking a pause to think. “I slept with her like three years ago.”

“Well, stay away from her. She’s here with her fiancée.”

“I have a girlfriend, didn’t plan on talking to her,” Sehun sneers, “Thank you very much.”

The rest of the party goes on without a hitch. His mother’s food is delicious and she only cries twice as she parades Baekhyun around to be sure he speaks to each family member individually. He makes eye contact with Chanyeol as his middle-aged aunt scratches roughly between his cat ears, causing him to flinch back. Chanyeol laughs and Baekhyun sticks his tongue out at him.

When it begins getting dark and a little chilly, Chanyeol offers to light a fire in their fire pit. He works with Minseok, who has no idea what he’s doing, but they get it started and all the younger people flock to it.

Baekhyun stares at Chanyeol, whose skin is glowing in the firelight, from across the yard, currently trapped in a conversation with a relative he doesn’t even recognize that’s asking him when he’s going to get a girlfriend.

“I’m gay,” he states flatly, and excuses himself to go hang out by the fire with his friends.

The day turns to night and the party winds down. Baekhyun says goodbye to family members, thanks them for coming, and wishes them well as they head for their cars. It was an exhausting day and he’s more than happy to bid the final, straggling party guests goodbye.

Minseok, Sehun, and Jongin are the last to leave. They say their goodbyes and tell Baekhyun they’ll be back early tomorrow to pick him up.

With everyone now gone, Baekhyun takes a seat around the small fire pit and sighs in relief; he can’t remember the last time he’s sat down today. Now, it’s nearing midnight and he wants nothing more than to relax in front of the fire in this chair between Kyungsoo and Chanyeol.

“Here,” Chanyeol says, holding an unopened beer bottle out toward Baekhyun, “You look like you could use this.”

Baekhyun’s fingers twitch as he side-eyes Kyungsoo, silently asking for permission to accept the drink. His brother gives him the okay with a faint nod and a raise of his own glass bottle. So, Baekhyun take the beer and twists the cap off.

For the next while, the three boys sit in relative silence, finishing beer after beer together. Nothing but the sound of distant insects and the crackling of the fire surrounds them. Baekhyun is happy to be here with his two favorite people, but it’s bittersweet. He’s going to miss this, spending time in their company. He’s gotten used to Kyungsoo not being around, but he’s devastated by the idea of not living next door to Chanyeol after tonight. The fear of not being close to him causes an anxiety in Baekhyun that’s he’s never experienced. He turns and look at Chanyeol’s face lit by firelight. He wishes he had more time with him, that he didn’t have to leave tomorrow.

Kyungsoo’s phone rings and he stands, excusing himself to go speak to his boyfriend in the house in private.

Baekhyun, bordering the edge of drunk now, grabs the arms of his chair and hops it closer to Chanyeol’s.

“Hi,” he says, then just smiles.

“What’s up?” Chanyeol chuckles at the cat and watches his tail sway happily in the air beside him.

“Nothing,” Baekhyun states, but the downturn of his eyebrows betrays his attempted indifference. He leans closer to Chanyeol, propping his chin up on his hands with his elbows resting on the arm of Chanyeol’s chair. “I’m really gonna miss you.”

Chanyeol takes a deep breath, slowly lets it out as he smiles sweetly at the drunken cat. “I’m gonna miss you too. It’s gonna be weird not having a little cat barging into my house all the time.”

Baekhyun gazes at Chanyeol with an intense fondness that he can feel buzzing through his body. So many emotions and thoughts are racing through him, fueled by the close proximity, and the alcohol. This is his last chance, he thinks; he can’t allow himself to leave without ever even trying.

He leans back and sits upright, eyebrows drawn together with nervousness and hope.

“If things were different…if-if I was older, would you have liked me back?”

There’s nothing he can do now that the words have left his lips, only wait for Chanyeol’s response. The more time that passes without a word from Chanyeol, the smaller Baekhyun’s expectant smile becomes.

“Baekhyun, I—” Chanyeol sighs and looks into the fire, unsure of how to answer this question.

But, Baekhyun can’t wait for an answer. He’s waited long enough and is ready for Chanyeol to finally understand how he feels.

“I’ve always liked you, Chanyeol. When we first met, when I was dating Jongin, it was always you.” He leans in again, chin trembling in preparation for inevitable rejection. “I’m gonna move away and it’ll still be you.”

Chanyeol is biting his bottom lip, eyebrows scrunched in internal struggle when he turns to meet Baekhyun’s eyes. He doesn’t speak, and he doesn’t move when Baekhyun places his hand on his cheek. He closes his eyes.

“I’m not a little kid anymore, just tell me the truth. I deserve that much.”

When Chanyeol remains silent, Baekhyun says fuck it and decides to force and answer from him; it’s been four years and he’s getting his answer before he leaves tomorrow. His heart pounds hard against his ribs, causing a tremble in his fingertips and a lump in his throat. He leans over Chanyeol’s chair and presses their lips together.

A violent purr erupts in his chest when Chanyeol doesn’t pull away. He parts his lips, pressing more kisses to Chanyeol’s lips that he doesn’t reject. It’s everything Baekhyun’s ever imagined and like nothing he’s ever experienced. His body is on fire, desperate to feel Chanyeol, to be closer. He begins to stand, intent on crawling into Chanyeol’s lap, but the kiss is suddenly broken, leaving Baekhyun in a state of confusion.

Chanyeol stands and backs away, shaking his head, mouth open but not saying anything. He runs a hand through his hair and squeezes his eyes shut, clearly frustrated, maybe confused.

“No,” he says, eyes finally opening to look at Baekhyun. “No, Baekhyun. I’m sorry, I don’t— I should go.”

Baekhyun’s entire world crumbles as he watches Chanyeol walk away, bumping into a confused Kyungsoo before he disappears into the darkness. His open mouth quivers as tears line his eyes and begin to fall. He feels a heaviness in his chest; the weight of a broken heart, he assumes.

“Kyungsoo?” he whimpers pathetically as his brother steps up beside him.

Kyungsoo wraps his arms around Baekhyun when he stands and throws himself at him. He rests his chin atop Baekhyun’s head, digs his fingertips into Baekhyun’s waist. “I know,” he whispers into Baekhyun’s hair, “I know.”

He’s heartbroken for his baby brother. He pulls Baekhyun closer, flush against his own body, and just holds on, trying to bring him some sort of comfort.

Baekhyun cries and cries, body shaking as he tries to calm down but is unable to. It hurts so much, and it’s not fair. Why is he able to imprint on someone that is incapable of doing the same?

“Why doesn’t he love me back, Soo?”

His question sends another wave of unbearable sadness through him and a sob rips through his chest. Kyungsoo pats at him and shushes him softly; it hurts to see his ever-smiling brother cry like this.

He cradles Baekhyun’s head in his hands. “I’m sorry Baekhyun, I don’t know.”

“I-I real—” He hiccups and gasps in a quick breath, “I really thought he—” He doesn’t finish his sentence, but instead starts crying again.

Kyungsoo knows what Baekhyun was going to say and, if he’s being honest, he thought Chanyeol felt the same as well.

Baekhyun packs his few boxes into Minseok’s car in the morning and leaves. He doesn’t say goodbye to Chanyeol, he doesn’t look back at his house as the car drives away. He keeps his head up, looking straight ahead, willing to finally admit defeat and move on. Ready to let go of a four year long, one-sided love.


	20. Chapter 20

Baekhyun loves college.

He sulks for the first two weeks in Minseok’s apartment, missing his mother, wishing things had gone differently with Chanyeol. But, Minseok gets sick of it quickly and forces him out of their home and out onto the campus to introduce him to college life. He takes Baekhyun for a long walk through main campus where most of the students gather during the day, some making their way to summer classes, but most just bored and looking for something to do.

He’s overwhelmed by the amount of students surrounding him, and the surprising number of hybrids walking around. It’s exciting to him, that he can walk around and not be gawked at for being different. He’s far from being the only hybrid on campus and he really feels like he belongs here.

They run into Jongin as he’s walking out of the student center, holding a large cup of coffee in one hand and his phone in the other. He looks cute in a button up shirt with yellow and green vertical stripes tucked into a pair of dark jeans. Baekhyun’s used to seeing him in only athletic wear, so it’s an interesting change in fashion.

“You look nice today,” Baekhyun says with a cute bat of his eyelashes.

“I have an interview to get into some stupid frat later.”

They begin walking in the direction Jongin was headed. Minseok makes fun of the fact Jongin wants to join a frat. He insists he doesn’t actually want to, but it’ll look good on resumes later in life. Minseok rolls his eyes, insists that he’s only joining to be crammed in a house full of hot guys.

“I’d like to join!” Baekhyun exclaims happily, walking backward in front of Jongin.

Minseok and Jongin share a look and laugh.

“You so could not handle a frat, kitten,” Minseok teases.

“Could you imagine him set loose in a frat house when he’s in heat?” Jongin asks Minseok, absolutely amused at the thought.

“Hey!” Baekhyun stops walking suddenly and Jongin slams into him. He puts his arms on his hips and glares. “Don’t make fun of me while I’m standing right here.”

The semester begins for Baekhyun in early September. With his major still undecided, he takes mostly random prerequisite classes which are mind-numbingly boring and entirely too easy. With the exception of his math class, he’s always been terrible at math.

Because of the ease of his classwork, he spends much of his time people watching; an old favorite pastime of his. There are many, many cute guys in his classes; the terribly handsome kind he’ll be too afraid to ever talk to. But, he can stare all he wants. Minseok frequently teases him about his boy watching habits, and Jongin joins in too, but Baekhyun simply shrugs it off and continues drooling over hot college boys, trying his best to keep thoughts of Chanyeol pushed deep into the back of his mind.

He does a good job of this for a while, not thinking about Chanyeol. He busies himself with his classwork, spends a decent amount of time in a small bakery eating pastries and sipping coffee with Jongin, both pretending to study but really just playfully flirting with each other. They both know it’s meaningless and not going anywhere, but it’s a fun way to entertain themselves while they ignore their textbooks.

The first time Baekhyun is invited to Jongin’s frat house is like a second sexual awakening for him. It should be illegal for that many hot guys to all be under one roof. He asks Jongin if it’s too late for him to join and Jongin just gives him a glare before shutting his bedroom door so they can study without distraction.

The second time Baekhyun is invited to Jongin’s frat house is for a party. A Halloween party, and Baekhyun is much too excited for it. He spends a week planning a costume, spooky yet sexy is his goal. With Minseok’s input he settles on going as a vampire, since he’s already naturally equipped with the fangs.

On the day of the party Minseok and Baekhyun spend an unreasonable amount of time together in the bathroom getting ready. It takes a lot of hair spray and a decent amount of fake blood, but Baekhyun feels confident in his look for the night. He’s unsure what Minseok is supposed to be, but his white hair is messy in a sexy way and he has lipstick smeared at the corner of his mouth, and it’s got Baekhyun feeling warm in all the right places.

They briefly skype with Sehun before leaving for the party and, while Baekhyun can’t tell what he’s supposed to be either, he does know he looks fine as hell in a suit and thick-framed glasses.

“You better behave yourself tonight,” Minseok warns as they approach the large double doors.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Baekhyun questions, making a face at Minseok.

“Please, kitten, I can smell your heat from a mile away.” He nudges Baekhyun in the side and chuckles. “I’m just saying, keep it in your pants tonight.”

“Well, it’s your fault,” Baekhyun whines as they step into the fancy foyer of the frat house. Minseok gives him a confused raise of his eyebrow. “You look really good tonight.”

Minseok laughs with a shake of his head and drags Baekhyun by the shoulder further into the party.

Baekhyun decides early on that he won’t be drinking tonight; he’s already in heat and doesn’t need anything else clouding his already skewed judgement. So, while Minseok indulges himself in the mystery punch, he finds a bottle of water for himself in the fridge.

They walk around for a while, not attempting to speak over the loud music, and admire all the costumes. Some of the kids present take Halloween very seriously, Baekhyun realizes, and he secretly hopes that he looks half as cool as the kid in the very convincing Deadpool costume.

Not long into the night they run into Jongin. Baekhyun needs to brush up on pop culture references because he has to ask Jongin who he’s supposed to be.

“David Bowie,” he says proudly, giving Baekhyun a playful shake of his shoulders.

Jongin looks good, like, really good. His hair is slicked back and his face is painted; he’s wearing an interesting outfit that somehow still looks good on him. Baekhyun is sweating.

With their small crew complete, they join the rest of the party. Jongin shows everyone how it’s done on the dancefloor, taking turns to dance with anyone who approaches him, and even convincing a nervous Baekhyun to dance for a while.

Minseok spends time on the prowl, looking for a pretty someone to take back to the apartment. That’s not Baekhyun’s idea of fun, so he sticks close to Jongin’s side, periodically brushing off advances from random partygoers. A few hybrids approach him, drawn in by his scent; they’re more difficult to shake off, but Jongin is quick to wrap an arm around Baekhyun’s waist and glare until they get the hint.

He’s grateful for Jongin because, without him, he would most likely wander off to a vacant bedroom with one of the better smelling hybrids.

Nearing midnight, Jongin is a little drunk, and a lot handsy. Baekhyun can’t say that he minds; he welcomes the warm palms on his hips as they dance together to some upbeat song he doesn’t recognize.

Jongin leans in close from behind Baekhyun, runs his nose the length of Baekhyun’s neck and chuckles into his ear. “You’re in heat,” he whispers, just loud enough to be heard over the music.

The breath against his skin causes the hair at the back of his neck to stand up and he gasps. For the first time tonight he can smell Jongin’s cologne through the hundreds of other lingering scents in the house. He smells like Chanyeol, like lavender and vanilla, but the subtle hint of oranges isn't there. Jongin’s fingers squeeze his waist and he bites into his bottom lip.

Baekhyun turns so he can get a good look at Jongin; he wonders if his eyes are as filled with lust as Jongin’s are right now. The heat radiating from his body tells him they most likely are.

“Pretty eyes,” Jongin says with a cocky grin, and in that moment, Baekhyun knows he’s done for. He knows how he’s going to spend the rest of his night.

Jongin snatches Baekhyun’s hand and pulls him quickly through the crowded room, bumping into multiple people, bouncing off of them and continuing on in a rush. They get to the stairs that lead up to all the bedrooms and Jongin turns suddenly to pin Baekhyun between himself and the wall.

Baekhyun takes a deep breath, anticipating a kiss when Jongin leans in, but it doesn’t happen.

“Are you gonna bite me, little vampire?” Jongin teases; he swipes his thumb through the blood smeared around Baekhyun’s lips. He does kiss Baekhyun now, pinning him hard against the wall.

It’s been quite some time since he’s last kissed Jongin. It’s different than before, better; he’s got more of a take charge kind of attitude about it now and Baekhyun finds it irresistible.

Ascending a staircase while making out is difficult and they barely make it without falling. But, they do make it, and then Jongin hoists Baekhyun up to carry him the rest of the way to his room.

Baekhyun is placed on the edge of the bed with his legs hanging off, Jongin standing between them. He gazes up at Jongin, still so handsome even with that silly face paint.

“You sure you wanna do this?” Jongin asks, always so concerned even while drunk. “It’s not just because you’re in heat?”

Baekhyun nods, grabbing Jongin’s shirt and pulling him close so he can take a deep breath. He closes his eyes and is surrounded by Chanyeol’s scent, Jongin’s cologne. “The heat is a contributing factor, but I definitely want to do this.”

They share a quick smile, and then Jongin tackles Baekhyun back onto the bed.

“Naughty. Little. Kitten.” Minseok is standing at the bottom of the stairs with his hands on his hips and knowing smirk.

Jongin and Baekhyun freeze a few steps up from the bottom and share a look. Baekhyun attempts innocence, but the blood from his face has transferred onto Jongin and stained the skin around his mouth, and on his neck.

“Didn’t I tell you to keep it in your pants?” He grabs Baekhyun’s arm and pulls him down the last few steps. He sighs. “Well, at least it was Jongin and not some horny hybrid after your scent.”

Baekhyun giggles, still a little dazed from the two orgasms Jongin gave him. He gets up on his toes to press his lips to Minseok’s ear, “Jongin’s learned some moves,” he whispers.

Minseok can only laugh and shake his head. “Lucky you.” He quickly scans the room and frowns. “This party is a bust. I’m ready to go home if you are.”

Baekhyun nods. He turns back to give Jongin a quick kiss on the lips, but it lingers for a moment when Jongin slips his arm around his waist. “Mmh, I gotta go,” he mumbles against Jongin’s mouth.

“Oh no,” Minseok says, “don’t let me ruin your night. You stay, I know my way home.”

“You sure?” Baekhyun asks, Jongin now wrapped completely around him from behind, chin resting on his shoulder.

“Absolutely,” Minseok nods, “go break your heat so I don’t have to hear you whine about being hot all week.”

“Okay.” Baekhyun giggles when Jongin gives his neck a soft kiss. “See you tomorrow, love you!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Minseok waves him off. He points a finger at Jongin, “You better take good care of him.”

“Mmh, I will don’t worry.”

Minseok rolls his eyes but smiles; he gives them each a quick hug and wanders off.

Baekhyun wakes disoriented, lying on top of the covers completely naked except for his cape, which is still tied around his neck. Jongin is lying beside him, his face paint smudged from sweat and the red stain around his mouth darkened. Baekhyun stretches and grins, then winces because his entire body is sore. Last night was a workout.

He knows Jongin must be exhausted as well, so he gets up without waking him and finds his clothes. Once he’s fully dressed, minus a sock he can’t seem to find, he realizes he now has to do his first ever walk of shame through a very large, very boy-filled frat house. He twists the doorknob with a heavy sigh; he can do this.

The stares are something he’s used to, so that he can handle as he makes his way to the door. But, what makes his face turn red are the teasing whistles from various boys he doesn’t know. He passes a mirror and sees his disheveled reflection for the first time, and that only increases his humiliation. His hair is a mess, his eyeliner is smudged; it’s very obvious that he had some great sex last night.

He’s stopped before he can make it out of the house.

“You’re Jongin’s friend, right?” The boy smiles at Baekhyun, lips curled up at the edges reminiscent of a house cat.

“Uh, y-yeah. I was just leaving.” He attempts to turn the handle, but is again stopped.

“I’m Jongdae. You should stay and hang out for a while.”

Baekhyun politely declines the offer, stating that he really just wants to get home and shower, and, for some reason, promises to come back another time to hang out.

He’s made the walk across campus before, but never has it felt so long. He’s never been in a vampire costume for this walk, and he’s surely never had makeup and blood smeared all over his face. He just wants to get home and away from the stares of speculating students.

Minseok greets him at the door with a grin. “Well, someone looks like they enjoyed their Halloween.”

“Please don’t,” Baekhyun says as he begins stripping layers of his costume off on his way toward the bathroom. “I got enough of that from the guys at the house.”

“Aw, baby,” Minseok coos as Baekhyun steps into the shower and rips the curtain closed. “Did those mean frat boys tease you for getting some good dick last night?”

Baekhyun stands under the hot water and lets it run down his face. He scrubs the mess off of his face and begins to shampoo the hair spray out.

“I met a kid named Jongdae as I was leaving,” he says, suspecting Minseok is still standing in the doorway. “He asked me to hang out.”

“I know him,” Minseok says, sounding much closer than he was moments before. “He’s Jongin’s friend, we’ve all hung out a few times.”

Baekhyun hears his phone vibrate from where he placed it beside the sink and asks Minseok to see if it was anything important. The silence is worrisome.

“Who was it?” he asks cautiously, now massaging conditioner into his hair.

“Uhhh,” Minseok doesn’t give him an answer. “I can just delete it.”

“Minseok, who is it?”

“Really,” Minseok insists, “I’ll just—”

Baekhyun slides the curtain open a little and frowns. “Let me see.”

Minseok nervously lifts the phone up to Baekhyun’s face and holds his breath, watching Baekhyun’s eyes scan the text on the screen.

Baekhyun doesn’t say anything, just closes the curtain and continues showering with a glare fixed on the tiles directly in front of him, trying to process.

“You alright in there, kitten?” Minseok pulls the curtain back an inch and peeks in to check on his silent friend. Baekhyun is standing still under the spray, eyes open, letting the water run down his face. “I’ll take that as a no.” He leans in and turns the water off, then hands Baekhyun his towel.

After drying off and dressing, Baekhyun meets Minseok in the kitchen for a late lunch. He jabs at his food with a fork while holding his phone in the opposite hand, glaring as he reads the text over again.

Baekhyun slams his phone down onto the table suddenly causing Minseok to jump. “I just don’t understand,” he says, “why would he just randomly text me after like three months?”

Minseok shrugs animatedly. “Are you gonna reply?”

Baekhyun stares at his phone screen, the text from Chanyeol still open and unanswered. “I don’t know.”

The text remains unanswered for a week. Baekhyun reads it many times, types up a few responses that he never sends, and eventually forgets about it in place of school work. When he finally comes back around to the message, he still doesn’t know what he wants to say, if anything at all.

He’s done so good to forget about Chanyeol, that is, up until Halloween when Jongin switched to a new cologne, the same one Chanyeol has always used. He knows he likely wouldn’t have slept with Jongin were it not for his scent that night. As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, he misses Chanyeol terribly. Every day, for the last three months.

It’s impossible to get him out of his head, when he’s been so wrapped up in Chanyeol’s life for four years. Everywhere he goes there’s something there to remind him of Chanyeol. A certain drink from a coffee shop being called out, a song playing in a store, a particular brand of beer. It’s impossible to forget his love for Chanyeol when he still sees him in things every single day.

That’s what brings him to finally reply to the message. It’s just a simple, ‘how are you, hope your classes are going well’ kind of text; Chanyeol checking up on him. It’s sweet and caring, and it makes Baekhyun’s heart ache.

He taps at his screen, just a short message that he nervously sends. He tells Chanyeol he’s doing good and that his classes are going well. He wants to tell him he misses him, that he still thinks about him every day, that he can still remember his scent and feel his fingertips massaging at his scalp. But he doesn’t.

Focusing on his homework is difficult after that; his eyes want to keep wandering to the edge of his desk where his phone sits. He’s anxious for Chanyeol’s reply. But, by the time he climbs into bed that night, there’s no word from Chanyeol.

“Is it true you’ve been talking to Chanyeol again?” Jongin asks, catching Baekhyun off guard.

He’s seated around a large table at the frat house with Jongin, Minseok, and two of their friends. Jongdae, who he’d met on Halloween, and Junmyeon, a clean-cut rich boy type that they somehow all manage to get along with.

Baekhyun simply shrugs. “I guess? Not really.”

“Oooh,” Jongdae sing-songs, “Who’s Chanyeol?”

“No one,” Baekhyun answers quickly. “A friend.”

Minseok rolls his eyes from beside Baekhyun and Jongin gives him a look.

“He was my neighbor for four years before I came here and I had a crush on him,” he says like it’s not a big deal.

“Please,” Minseok interjects, “You’re totally in love with him.”

“Yep,” Jongin agrees.

“You imprinted on him and everything,” Minseok adds with a flourish of both hands.

“I was in love with him,” Baekhyun attempts to clarify, but no one believes him. “And, we haven’t been talking. He asked me how I was and I told him I’m good.” He shrugs. “We texted a couple times after that. He wished me a happy Thanksgiving, but we haven’t talked since.”

“Are you gonna try to win him over when you go home for Christmas break next week?” Jongdae asks, completely enthralled by this sad love story.

Baekhyun stares down into his glass on the table and smiles sadly; he shakes his head. “No. I already tried once, he doesn’t feel the same.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to try again,” Junmyeon says, giving Baekhyun a sweet smile. “You never know.”

Baekhyun lets out a quick breath, “No, I do know. It’s not gonna happen.”

Three days before Christmas, Baekhyun and Minseok pack their bags and set off toward their hometown, excited for the long drive. Baekhyun finally got around to getting his license, so Minseok decides there’s no better way to celebrate than by having him drive the entire way.

The drive takes a little longer than planned, thanks to a couple roadside attractions that catch their attention. But they eventually make it, and Baekhyun parks in front of his house and sighs away some of his anxiety.

A quick look next door tells him that Chanyeol isn’t home, so he can breathe easy for now. He knows he’ll eventually end up face to face with him, but he’s not ready for that meeting so soon.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Minseok says as he tosses Baekhyun his bag and slams the trunk closed. “You’ll get through it.”

Baekhyun stares over at Chanyeol’s house and takes a deep breath. “I hope so.”

His mother greets him in the kitchen as if he’s been away for years instead of just a few months. She’s so excited to see him that she pulls Minseok into the crushing hug as well. He seems to enjoy it however, and throws his arms around both of them and hums contentedly.

When they’re finally released from the hug she offers them food and drink, and tells them to take a seat at the table which is covered with piles of addressed Christmas cards she hasn’t gotten around to mailing out yet.

Baekhyun tips his head, noticing one addressed to Chanyeol.

“Mom?” he says, picking the card up and spinning it in his hands. “Why are you mailing Chanyeol’s card instead of just walking it over to him?”

His mother turns from the open fridge, holding various vegetables, clearly confused. “Sweetie, Chanyeol doesn’t live next door anymore. Didn’t he tell you?”

Baekhyun can feel his blood go cold. He turns the envelope over and reads the address more than once; he can feel both his mother and Minseok staring at him.

“No, he-he didn’t tell me.” He looks up at his mother. “When?”

She places the vegetables on the counter and turns back to her son. “He got a place closer to his office,” she hums in thought, “right around the beginning of November.”

Baekhyun huffs a disbelieving laugh. “That’s when he texted me,” he says to himself. He crushes the envelope in his hand and swipes the keys off the table with the other before jumping to his feet. “I’ll be back.”

Minseok watches Baekhyun run for the door, smiling happily, feeling optimistic for whatever is going to happen. Baekhyun’s mother steps up beside him and places her hand on his shoulder as the front door slams.

“Go get him, baby,” she says, smiling to herself.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are at the end. I love this fic so so much and had so much fun writing it and reading everyone's comments. I'm very happy with this final chapter and hope you guys all love it as much as I do. If you ever want to chat with me or just see the stupid things I have to say come follow me on tumblr, I'm sincelight there too.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

The car comes to a screeching halt in front of the address he’d typed into his gps. He sees Chanyeol’s car in the driveway and unbuckles. Unsure of what his plan is, he gets out and slams the door, and begins walking with his gaze trained on the door of the house. 

He’s so angry. He doesn’t know why, but he is. He can’t believe Chanyeol didn’t tell him. He feels betrayed.

He steps onto the porch with a glare already on his face, and knocks three times in quick succession. The door opens after a few moments and Baekhyun suddenly has to fight the urge to smile; he’s always thought Chanyeol looks cutest when he’s confused. But no, he can’t; he’s supposed to be mad at him.

“Baek, wha-what are you doing here?”

His hair is dark again, and he looks so good, a little startled, but so still so handsome.

“How could you just move away and not tell me?” He has his arms crossed over his chest and eyebrows drawn close together.

Chanyeol spots the crumpled envelope in his hand, his own address scrawled neatly across the front. He sighs. “I was going to tell you. That’s why I texted you last month. But after…after what happened at your grad party—” He pauses and takes a deep breath. “I just thought you wouldn’t care that I was moving.” He shrugs. “I figured you probably hate me now.”

A hard lump forms in Baekhyun’s throat. “You know, I’ve looked up to you since I was a kid because you’re so smart. But that’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever said.” He drops his arms to his sides and his demeanor softens. “How could you think I would ever hate you?”

Chanyeol doesn’t speak, so Baekhyun just shakes his head and turns to leave, coming here was a mistake. He should have stayed away, all this is going to accomplish is opening wounds that were maybe, finally beginning to heal.

“Baek wait,” Chanyeol reaches out for him in a panic, grabs the hood of his coat. “I’m sorry. I know you’re mad but, please don’t go.”

Baekhyun whips around with an angry glare. “You idiot, I’m not mad at you. I was never mad at you. I was embarrassed because I’ve liked you for so long but you’ll never feel the same.”

“But, I do,” Chanyeol says rather quickly, scared that Baekhyun is going to storm off and never come back.

Baekhyun’s lips part and he blinks slowly. Did Chanyeol say that or did he imagine it? “You-you do?”

“I didn’t realize it until after you were gone and my house was— Baek, it was lonely there without you.” Chanyeol’s lips twitch into a small, shy smile. “I think I’ve liked you since the day we met, and I think I’ve been fighting with that for a long time because you were just a kid then.” He reaches out to give Baekhyun’s bangs that signature brush to the side, but his hand remains on Baekhyun, cupping his cheek. “I don’t wanna fight myself over this any longer.”

Baekhyun is numb. He’s so scared that at some point he’s going to wake up, and all of this will have just been a dream. So, instead of wasting time with words, he jumps forward to test Chanyeol’s sincerity with a kiss.

Chanyeol wraps his arms around Baekhyun’s waist, tilts his head to better slot their lips together. Baekhyun purrs wildly when he realizes Chanyeol isn’t pulling away; he isn’t rejecting him. Not this time.

With Chanyeol’s help, Baekhyun climbs up his body, situating himself with his arms around Chanyeol’s neck, legs wrapped around his hips. Chanyeol falls back into the door, knocked off balance by the force of the kiss. The clumsiness makes them both laugh for a moment, noses pressed together, before continuing their kiss. Chanyeol moves his hands to Baekhyun’s ass to keep him up and, when he squeezes, Baekhyun mewls into his mouth and presses himself closer.

It’s hot and frantic, and Chanyeol begins fumbling with the doorknob, wanting nothing more than to finally, finally take this cat to bed.

The door opens and he stumbles backward, kicks the door closed, then starts pressing wet kisses to Baekhyun’s neck now that they’re out of his nosy neighbor’s view.

Baekhyun takes a tight handful of Chanyeol’s hair and lets his head fall back with a shaky moan. “Chanyeol,” he cries out as a warning, slapping Chanyeol’s hand away when he grazes fingers through fur at the base of his tail. This is finally happening and, if Chanyeol touches him there again, it’ll be over all too soon.

He leans away from the kiss and looks into Chanyeol’s eyes. For the first time, he doesn’t feel like Chanyeol is looking at him like he’s just a kid. He takes a deep breath, wanting to take in as much of Chanyeol’s scent as he can. He closes his eyes; he can smell vanilla and lavender, and that barely there hint of oranges only Chanyeol has. It’s just right. It makes his entire body shudder. The imprint his feral instinct claimed on Chanyeol years ago is screaming, wanting to be given over to the object of its affection. And, who is Baekhyun to deny his inner feline?

He couldn’t even if he wanted to. Just two minutes of making out with Chanyeol has thrown him into an irregular heat much stronger than any he’s ever experienced. All he wants is Chanyeol.

He slides carefully down Chanyeol’s body until his feet are on the floor, keeping eye contact the entire time. Without looking away, he tugs Chanyeol’s shirt up over his head, lets it fall to the floor. He moves slowly, giving Chanyeol every opportunity to stop him, but he doesn’t. So, Baekhyun pulls his own shirt off, breath heavy and slow, heart pounding.

With his hands over the button of Chanyeol’s jeans, he tugs him forward and presses their lips together again, resuming their passionate kiss. It’s a lot of tongue, sloppy and fast, but it’s perfect.

He walks Chanyeol backward, both of them frantically trying to kick their shoes off as they move. Chanyeol’s legs hit the couch and he falls, and Baekhyun hurries to straddle his thighs.

This position doesn’t last long, though, because Baekhyun is desperately rocking on Chanyeol’s lap, and the older boy can’t stand it any longer. So, Chanyeol flips Baekhyun onto his back and leans over him, keeping their lips together. He moves to suck at Baekhyun’s neck again, then down his chest, to his stomach and back up to his lips. As they kiss, Chanyeol’s hands roam all over Baekhyun’s body, to every place he never realized he so badly wanted to touch.

Baekhyun’s an absolute mess. He hasn’t even taken his pants off yet, but he can feel how wet he is, how excited just making out with Chanyeol has gotten him. He’s never wanted something more in his life; he’s dreamt about this moment for years, and now it’s finally happening.

He thinks back to high school, seeing Chanyeol naked through his window, and thinking he’d never be so lucky as to see it in person. But, Chanyeol undoes his jeans and slides them down his thighs, along with his underwear, and Baekhyun’s eyes roll back in ecstasy.

“Oh my god,” Baekhyun whispers quickly, “take my pants off, my hands are shaking too much to do it myself.”

Chanyeol chuckles at that, but obliges. He peels the jeans from Baekhyun’s legs slowly, like he’s opening a Christmas present wrapped in paper too pretty to destroy. He can see the large wet spot on the couch made by Baekhyun and this turns him on, excites him further.

He gets the jeans and underwear off and spreads Baekhyun’s legs, leans back to take everything in. Head to toe, Baekhyun is beautiful. His dark hair, his soft skin, long, slim legs. Chanyeol could stare at him for hours. But, he’d rather touch.

Baekhyun has the same thought and pushes at Chanyeol’s chest, urging him to sit back on the couch so that he can crawl back into his lap. He kisses Chanyeol, now fully naked in his lap, and a strong urge to bite him takes him over. So he does; he gently sinks his little fangs into the skin where Chanyeol’s shoulder meets his neck, not hard enough to break the skin, but just enough to make Chanyeol gasp. A surge of emotions floods Baekhyun so suddenly, with such intensity, his eyes well with tears.

He pulls his fangs from the skin and rests his forehead in their place, unable to do anything but cry.

Chanyeol pets through Baekhyun’s hair with a gentle concern, whispering to him over and over that everything is okay.

Baekhyun lifts his head and meets Chanyeol’s eyes, and he can feel it, the connection Minseok warned him of years ago. He wishes Chanyeol could feel what he’s feeling right now.

“Are you okay?” Chanyeol asks after a moment of Baekhyun’s silent crying.

Baekhyun nods slowly, gazing deep into Chanyeol’s eyes, feeling like he’s finally found his home within them.

“Come here,” Chanyeol whispers as he stands and holds a hand out for Baekhyun to take. “You deserve something better than rushed couch sex.”

Chanyeol begins to walk but stops when Baekhyun’s hand falls from his; he hasn’t moved from his spot in front of the couch. Chanyeol smiles sweetly, looks at Baekhyun as if he were the only thing that matters to him in this world.

“What is it?”

“I can’t do this, Chanyeol.” He shakes his head, expression distraught. “I can’t.”

Chanyeol drags his knuckles down Baekhyun’s cheek affectionately and smiles. “We don’t have to.”

“I want to. I just— It’s different for me.” He nods, eyebrows pulled together, eyes darting side to side as he pieces together what he wants to say. “I-I imprinted on you so long ago.” He gulps, nervous about the effect his next words will have on the night’s outcome. “I can’t do this if you don’t understand how important you are to me.”

Chanyeol takes Baekhyun’s face in both hands and makes him look up at him. “I can’t imprint, Baek. But I can promise you that you’re just as important to me as I am to you.” He gently pecks Baekhyun’s lips. “I love you too, you know. You weird, wonderful little cat.”

Baekhyun purrs with such fervent adoration his entire body trembles.

Chanyeol steps back and eyes Baekhyun’s naked body from head to toe, sucking in an appreciative breath through his teeth. “And I’m not just saying that so you won’t put your clothes back on. Though I really am enjoying the view.”

Baekhyun bites his bottom lip and giggles, eyes closing because he’s so happy and Chanyeol is so cute and sweet and stupid.

And he loves him. Chanyeol actually loves him back.

“Is this you finally admitting you think I’m hot?”

Chanyeol lets out an open-mouthed, silent laugh, and sucks on his teeth as he nods; this will be the last time he ever falls into this trap. “You know what?” he says with a smirk, “fuck yeah it is.”

He rushes Baekhyun, pulling him into a sudden fierce kiss and Baekhyun finally feels those fireworks he’s been searching for. Chanyeol grips him up, slides his tongue into his mouth and bites down on Baekhyun’s bottom lip. He hikes the cat up, wraps his legs around his waist and carries him out of the living room.

Baekhyun lands on the bed, arms raised and bent, hands curled into loose fists resting on the mattress by his head. He’s out of breath, chest heaving as he holds eye contact with Chanyeol that only lasts seconds before Chanyeol drops to his knees between Baekhyun’s legs hanging off the edge of the bed.

Baekhyun shouts a moan, writhing in absolute pleasure as Chanyeol takes him into his mouth. His hands immediately dig into Chanyeol’s hair as Chanyeol’s hands grab his thighs, spreading his legs further.

“Oh god,” he whispers in a harsh exhale; Chanyeol moves to tongue at his hole, lapping at the slick pouring from him. It feels so good, every muscle in his body tenses and his lungs struggle to take in a full breath.

He yelps when Chanyeol unexpectedly flips him onto his stomach, screams when Chanyeol takes a firm grip on the base of his tail. His thighs are soaked, much like the sheets beneath him; he’s never felt as good as he does right now. No masturbating, no heat sex with Jongin, nothing could ever compare to the feeling of Chanyeol taking control of him like this.

And he’s never so desperately wanted to submit.

Baekhyun finds the strength to raise himself up on his knees, legs shaking with the daunting task of presenting his ass to Chanyeol. He sways his hips, taunting, offering himself to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol sucks in a quick breath and grabs Baekhyun’s right ass cheek, presses the tip of his thumb just past the puckered rim, and Baekhyun’s head drops to the mattress with a loud, lustful cry.

“Please,” Baekhyun begs, “Please.” His tail twitches in Chanyeol’s face. “Yeol, please.”

There’s no warning before Chanyeol spreads Baekhyun’s ass and pushes into him. Baekhyun’s head snaps back and he gasps in a stuttered breath. The stretch should hurt more than it does, but the filling nature of Chanyeol’s large cock renders Baekhyun drunk and unaware.

He feels like he’s in the midst of the most intense unbreakable heat of his life, while simultaneously sating his deepest desire.

Chanyeol takes time to admire Baekhyun’s body stretched out before him, rubbing his waist and back with his palm, trying to soothe him through the pain he must be feeling.

When his hand gets to Baekhyun’s tail, he grabs it and gives it a rough tug, pulling Baekhyun back onto his cock. Baekhyun’s legs shake and his back arches, raising his ass, pressing back into Chanyeol more.

So Chanyeol repeats the motion, again and again, using Baekhyun’s tail as leverage to keep him in place as his thrusts quicken.

Baekhyun falls apart. He’s in absolute bliss, pleasure beyond words as his slick drips down his inner thighs, squelching as Chanyeol fucks him hard from behind. He tugs at his own hair, panting heavy breaths, moaning softly with each exhale.

His orgasm builds quickly and hits him so suddenly, and with such intensity, his ears ring and his legs give out, leaving him limp on the mattress, motionless as Chanyeol continues and eventually finishes inside of him.

Chanyeol pulls out with a groan and lays down beside Baekhyun who turns onto his back. They stare at the ceiling in silence, both trying to catch their breath.

When Baekhyun turns his head, Chanyeol laces their fingers between them and looks over to meet Baekhyun’s eyes. They smile at each other and then quickly look back to the ceiling.

“So…that just happened.” Chanyeol squeezes Baekhyun’s hand.

“Yeah,” Baekhyun says lazily, still looking straight up at the ceiling in a mixture of disbelief and awe. Baekhyun bites his lip to hide his giddy smile. “It’s about time.”

With a laugh, Chanyeol reaches over and pulls Baekhyun on top of him, tucking his head close against his chest. He wraps his arms around Baekhyun and kisses the top of his head, then his shoulder, and sighs happily.

“Maybe next time we can go on a date first,” Chanyeol jokes.

“You have no idea how much I’d love that.”

After a long while of silence, Chanyeol raises his head from the pillow to look at Baekhyun. “You have to be the one to tell Kyungsoo. I’m still scared of him.”

He blinks, then lifts his coffee cup from the table to take a sip, then sets it back down. He’s silent. His eyes narrow, and he sighs through his nose, expression unreadable.

“Are you going to say anything?”

“I’m thinking,” Kyungsoo says simply, fingers fumbling with the rim of his mug.

Baekhyun gives Chanyeol, who is sitting beside him holding his hand, a quick look. He’s nervous, they both are, but Chanyeol is visibly sweating. It’s endearing and hilarious, but Baekhyun feels for his boyfriend. This whole situation is incredibly uncomfortable.

Kyungsoo clears his throat and crosses his arms, sitting back in his chair. He gives Chanyeol a pointed look, lips pursing slightly. “You love him?”

Chanyeol’s grip on Baekhyun’s hand tightens, his blood pressure spikes. “Uh, y-yes. I do.”

Kyungsoo gives a simple hum in response.

They sit in silence for a while longer, Kyungsoo’s gaze boring holes into Chanyeol. The tension between Chanyeol and Kyungsoo is unbearable and, quite frankly, Baekhyun doesn’t understand what the big deal is. So, he’s dating someone a little older than him, get over it Kyungsoo.

“Do you remember when I punched you?” Kyungsoo asks suddenly.

Chanyeol nods, “Very clearly, yes.”

“Good.”

Baekhyun’s head tips back and he sighs at the ceiling. “Kyungsoo, can we be done with this? It’s unnecessary.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes shift to Baekhyun only momentarily before focusing back on Chanyeol. “Have you had sex with my baby brother, Chanyeol?” He leans forward, placing his elbow on the table and resting his chin on his fist.

“Uh—” Chanyeol looks to Baekhyun for help on this one.

“Kyungsoo, that’s enough,” his mother says as she enters the kitchen. She gives Chanyeol a sweet smile, noticing his discomfort during this impromptu interrogation. “Your brother is an adult, and Chanyeol is a sweet boy.” She walks up behind her eldest son and grabs onto his shoulders. “Quit being so dramatic now.”

“I’m not dramatic,” he argues, “I’m concerned.” He shoots a glare at Chanyeol. “The last time I saw Chanyeol he made Baekhyun cry, so, sorry if I’m having trouble accepting this.”

“Sweetie, they’ve been dating for six months already. Get over it.” She gives Kyungsoo a warning squeeze to the back of his neck and exits the kitchen.

“Six months?” Kyungsoo squawks, slightly offended at having been kept in the dark for so long. “And, you’re just now telling me?”

Baekhyun stands and pulls Chanyeol up with him with their fingers on both hands intertwined. “If you’ll excuse us. It’s summer and I fully intend to enjoy the pool while I’m home.”

Baekhyun pushes his sunglasses to the tip of his nose to get an unobstructed view of Chanyeol pulling his shirt off. He’s already lounging on his favorite pool float, just waiting for Chanyeol to jump in and join him. He does, and then swims over and immediately flips Baekhyun off the float and into the water.

“Why?” Baekhyun shouts when he surfaces, and Chanyeol just laughs at him.

“Come here,” Chanyeol says. He scoops Baekhyun up once he reaches him and gives him a wet kiss.

For a while they just swim around and splash each other, kiss a little bit every so often, kiss a little more. When the sun begins to go down they climb out and kick back on the lounge chairs like they used to when Baekhyun was a teenager.

Baekhyun jumps when Chanyeol suddenly joins him on his chair, kneeling between his legs. Chanyeol leans forward and kisses him, and Baekhyun laughs.

“What?” Chanyeol asks.

“Nothing,” Baekhyun shrugs and brings his hands up to Chanyeol’s shoulders. “This position is a little familiar is all.”

Chanyeol leans in again, pressing his lips to Baekhyun’s ear. “We’re not supposed to speak of that, remember? We promised each other.” He kisses Baekhyun’s shoulder and they both laugh. He sits back on his heels and reaches out to brush Baekhyun’s hair from his eyes, then just stares into them. “You’re so damn pretty.”

Baekhyun grins and runs both hands through Chanyeol’s hair, resting his hands at the back of his neck. “I know, you’re such a lucky guy.”

Chanyeol dramatically flings himself off the chair and into the grass. He lies on his back with his eyes closed. “Ah, you’re so full of yourself. I can hardly take it.”

When Chanyeol sits up Baekhyun does too, and he scoots to the edge of his chair so that he can wrap his arms around Chanyeol’s neck from behind. “I’d rather be full of you,” he whispers, then nibbles on Chanyeol’s ear.

“Nineteen years old and you’re still the same horny kitten.”

Baekhyun nuzzles his nose into Chanyeol’s hair and takes a deep breath. “I can’t help it,” he pouts. “You smell so good I feel like I’m always in heat.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Chanyeol says in a quiet voice as Baekhyun slips off the chair and into his lap.

They rub their noses together and smile into the slow kiss they ease into. Baekhyun moves forward to press their chests together, and hums into his mouth, takes two handfuls of Chanyeol’s hair. Chanyeol grabs his tail and he bites his lip to quiet his moan.

Baekhyun is suddenly slapped on the back of the head and he yelps, accidentally banging his and Chanyeol’s heads together. “Mom! You always sneak up on me.”

“When will you learn?” his mother asks, casting a shadow over the two boys in the grass. She sighs quickly and shakes her head, but smiles. “Kyungsoo is taking us all out for dinner, so get up and go get changed.”

Baekhyun makes a face at his mother’s back as she walks toward the house. He climbs off of Chanyeol and stands, holding out a hand for him to take. They begin walking slowly, swinging their clasped hands between them.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Chanyeol says, smiling when Baekhyun looks up at him with wide, curious eyes. “Do you remember the time you came over and snuck into my room to find my cologne?”

Baekhyun blushes but nods; that day seems so long ago now. He was such an embarrassing kitten.

“I never really liked that cologne, but I always wore it because I knew you did.”

Baekhyun smiles at the ground; he couldn’t have picked a more perfect person to have imprinted on if he tried. “It wouldn’t have mattered,” he says honestly, “I told you then that you naturally smell just like the cologne.”

“Right.” Chanyeol nods. “What’s it like? Being able to smell people the way you do?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never really thought about it.” He pulls Chanyeol’s hand up to drape it over his shoulders, then wraps both arms around Chanyeol’s waist. “Sometimes people smell really bad to me. Like in school one time, I had to sit next to a kid that always smelled like cinnamon and I hate that smell.”

Chanyeol stops walking and turns to face Baekhyun. “What do you smell like?”

“Oh,” Baekhyun frowns in thought, “I’m not sure.” He lifts his arm and presses his wrist to his nose, then buries his face in Chanyeol’s chest.

“What?” Chanyeol asks as he chuckles at Baekhyun’s sudden bashfulness.

“I smell like you.”

This makes Chanyeol smile, the kind where his one dimple comes out and his eyes curve happily. He grabs Baekhyun around the waist and motions with his head for him to hop so that he can carry him the rest of the way to the house.

Baekhyun gets comfortable with his arms and legs around Chanyeol, and gives him a quick kiss that turns into a heated make out with his back pressed against the side of his house.

“Son! Honestly!” his mother shouts from where she’s standing by her open car door.

They break apart and Chanyeol places Baekhyun back on his feet, both embarrassed and slightly out of breath. Baekhyun giggles and takes Chanyeol’s hand so they can run into the house to change.

His mother scolds him when they finally get in the car and begin to back out of the driveway, but Baekhyun doesn’t mind; he’s leaned against Chanyeol’s shoulder, holding their hands together. Chanyeol kisses the top of his head and he begins purring.

“Did you hear me, Baek?” Kyungsoo calls, quickly looking back at his brother in the rearview mirror.

“What?”

“I said were gonna go get pizza.”

Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol excitedly and they grin at each other. ‘Chicken and bacon’, Chanyeol mouths at him, expression mirroring Baekhyun’s enthusiasm.

They arrive at the restaurant and Baekhyun’s stomach growls; he can already smell the cheese and grease. He gets out of the car and takes Chanyeol’s hand, practically dragging him toward the door. And then, he sees her.

She’s in her uniform, holding a pizza box in her hands, she stops when she recognizes them. Her eyes quickly land on their laced fingers and she smirks, giving Baekhyun an impressed nod. “Good for you, kid.” She winks at Chanyeol and then quickly disappears, off to deliver a pizza.

“I don’t even wanna know,” Kyungsoo says as he walks past them to enter the building.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol bust out laughing and follow Kyungsoo in. Baekhyun is quickly surrounded by the scent of pizza, but still, he can smell Chanyeol over everything else.

After dinner they return to the house and part ways, Kyungsoo entering the house with his mother, and Baekhyun climbing into the passenger seat of Chanyeol’s car. Baekhyun leans across his seat, over into Chanyeol’s personal space, and wraps himself around Chanyeol’s free arm to the best of his ability. Chanyeol complains about him sitting like this every time they drive together, but he never asks Baekhyun to move.

“So, what would my kitten like to do tonight?”

Baekhyun snuggles into Chanyeol’s bicep and sighs, content, a gentle purr rumbling through his chest. “I like when you call me that.”

“What? Kitten?” Chanyeol raises his captive arm to bury his fingers in Baekhyun’s hair, and leans enough to give the top of his head a quick kiss.

Baekhyun hums with a quick shake of his head. “No, yours.”

“So cheesy,” Chanyeol laughs at Baekhyun’s fake pout and gives him a few nudges until he’s smiling again.

“How about we lay on the couch and watch movies until we fall asleep.”

Chanyeol’s face lights up at that suggestion; his little kitten truly knows the way to his heart. But he smirks, he has better plans for them once they get back to the house.

Baekhyun gasps when Chanyeol removes his hands from his eyes. “When did you do this?” he asks, voice a whisper. The fairy lights hanging over the small backyard like a glistening roof twinkle in Chanyeol’s eyes when Baekhyun turns to smile at him.

“I’ve been busy.” He takes Baekhyun’s hand and leads him to the small table on the patio. “You’ve been nagging me to fix up the yard. I wanted to surprise you.”

Chanyeol lights candles on the table as Baekhyun takes in his surroundings. The yard’s been completely redone with various flowers and a little pond in the back corner; but, Baekhyun can’t stop staring up at the lights. Like a million little stars right in his own backyard.

“It’s so pretty.”

Chanyeol reaches across the table, sweeps Baekhyun’s hair from his eyes. “No, you’re so pretty.”

Baekhyun looks down and smiles, taking Chanyeol’s hand and moving it to his lips so that he can press a kiss to each of his knuckles. He knows he can be overly affectionate sometimes, but Chanyeol never seems to mind.

“So, which one of us is going to tell Kyungsoo?”

Baekhyun tilts his head, giving Chanyeol a curious little smile. “Tell him what?”

“I can’t imprint, but I can feel it Baekhyun. Maybe not the way you do, but I can feel how much you love me in the way you look at me, and the way you kiss me.”

“Chanyeol, what are you doing?” Baekhyun asks, eyes wide; is Chanyeol doing what he thinks he’s doing? Is this happening? He’s going to pass out.

“I struggled a lot in the last five years because of you. You’ve always been so open and loving, and extremely vocal about how you’ve felt about me. It put me in such a weird spot because as much as I never wanted to admit it to myself—” He pauses for a moment to smile at Baekhyun and then sighs. “I knew I loved you the day you first tricked me into saying you were hot.”

Baekhyun giggles, remembering sitting at Chanyeol’s kitchen table being forced to look at a picture of himself because he said he was too ugly for Sehun to be attracted to him.

“I already wasted four years, Baekhyun. When you finish school, I want you to m—”

Baekhyun lunges across the table and slaps a hand over Chanyeol’s mouth. “Don’t finish that sentence,” he whispers in panic. “Give me a second.”

Chanyeol doesn’t speak, but his eyebrows turn down in confusion. He crosses his arms, but makes no move to pull away from the hand covering his mouth.

“Oh my god, oh my god,” Baekhyun whispers to himself, no longer looking at Chanyeol.

Finally, Chanyeol leans back an inch and clears his throat to get the cat’s attention back on him. “Hey, uh, Baek. I think you may be a little, um, confused. Or, maybe hopeful is a better word.”

Baekhyun’s head snaps toward Chanyeol, a mean glare on his face. “What do you mean?” he asks, jaw clenched.

“I feel like I know what you were thinking I was about to ask, but what I’m really asking is for you to move in with me when you graduate.”

Baekhyun is still for a long time, like a statue; he doesn’t even blink. The embarrassment fueled rage brewing within him is telling him to flip the table over. He doesn’t. He eventually blinks once and licks his lips, then clears his throat before staring up at the twinkling lights.

“I have never wanted to die more than I do right now.”

Chanyeol laughs loud and takes Baekhyun’s hand lying flat on the table.

“Why would ask me like that!?” he shouts. “What kind of monster asks someone to move in with them in such an extravagant way?” He scoffs and stands so that he can pace some of his frustration and embarrassment away. “I can’t believe you just did that to me.”

“Baek?”

He ignores Chanyeol to, instead, continue ranting. “Like, you really brought me here to the prettiest backyard in the world to ask me something you could have asked me in a text?”

“Hey, Baek?”

“You, for real, had me thinking you were about to propose to me.”

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol shouts now, and the cat stops pacing and turns to him.

Baekhyun’s jaw drops and he covers his open mouth with his hand. Chanyeol’s still sitting calmly in his seat, but holding a little ring up between his fingers, sly little grin plastered on his face.

“I am proposing to you. I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to mess with you.”

“You—” Baekhyun smiles so sweetly, but then his face shifts to a furious glare, “—are the worst person I’ve ever met.” He stomps over to Chanyeol and begins smacking him on his head and shoulders.

Chanyeol waits patiently for Baekhyun to calm down and then takes his hand. “So, is that a yes?”

Baekhyun erupts into a violent purr and, as angry as he wants to seem, he knows the wide grin on his face gives him away.

“Fine,” he says, “but you’re telling Kyungsoo.”


End file.
